A Long Time After
by hlm9803
Summary: Hundreds of years after Naruto and his friends, an Uchiha-Hyuga girl whose only goal is to die giving birth is caught in a world of violence.  Will this shy girl and her friends be able to restore peace to the world?  Or will they die in the process?
1. Chapter 1

**Enter: Mikoto Uchiha**

I sit on a ledge. At least I think it's a ledge. I can't see it, after all. I look down at the village, Konoha. At least I think it's Konoha. I couldn't really see it, after all. I look at the twelve Hokage heads carved into the mountainside. At least I think they are the Hokage heads. I can't exactly see them, after all.

And why can't I see anything that I should be able to see, you ask? It's because I am blind. A disgrace to my family, the Uchiha clan. My father and I are the only ones alive. I know everyone else died many generations ago. But then the only survivor, Sasuke Uchiha, came back to the village to rebuild his clan. He married Hinata Hyuga, for the byakugan. After all, who knew what the sharingan mixed with the byakugan could create?

But the man's plan was ruined when Hinata died during the birth of her first child. And that child's wife died during the birth of the next first child. And again. And again. Until we get down to me. Yes, my mother died during my birth, too. I know that I will die when I give birth to another pure Uchiha/Hyuga. I'm not scared, though. I might even die before that can happen. I'm going to become a kunoichi, anyway. Maybe I'll die during a mission. Or I'll die because of my father.

While I sit in silence, contemplating how I might die, a rustle sounds from behind me. I don't know if a normal person would have heard it, but I did. That's the upside of being blind. All your other senses are improved. But the rustle, I knew that it can from a human. I heard the soft, almost inaudible sound of footsteps.

"Wh-Who's there?" I stutter. I always stutter, something my father looks down upon. Even though my stammer is weak and sounds like a whisper, even to me, the footsteps stop a few feet behind me. I can't see the person, but I somehow know that it is a boy, about my age. I can also feel that he's powerful.

"I've never seen you around," a lazy voice says. It makes me slightly uncomfortable. I've never heard anyone but my father speak. My father is never lazy. His voice is always harsh and commanding. This voice was just so…different. It scared me.

"M-My name is Mikoto…M-Mikoto U-Uchiha…" I say. I curse myself for stammering. I can here the boy behind me shift, making me wonder what he's doing. I open my mouth to ask, but before I can, the odd voice cuts me off.

"I'm Yoshiro Nara." He says. I wince. I wonder why I need to know his name, whether I will ever hear him again. That thought bothers me. I don't know why. It would be nice to have a friend. I'm twelve years old and I've never had a friend. I wonder if this boy has a friend. I wonder if he has a father. I wonder.

And while I'm wondering, I don't hear the footsteps of a man. I don't hear him until he growls in a familiar way, speaks in a familiar way. And then I hear him. And then I'm scared.

"What are you doing with strangers, Mikoto," he growls. "I thought I told you to never talk to anyone but me. Come with me. And you-" I hear him turn, probably to the boy, Yoshiro, "-go home. Don't tell anyone about what you saw today, or else."

I hear a scrambling, the boy running away. I turn to my father, who's pulling on my arm. Hard. I let out a squeak as he squeezes hard on my arm, then lifts me up into the air by that arm. It hurts. But I will not tell him that. It would only make him angrier, my beating worse.

The next day I roll out of my bed. I'm so tired and sore that I don't bother to put my shoes on when I get out of bed, like my father always tells me too. I take a few steps toward my closet. But the floor underneath me is hurting my feet. So I put on my shoes and try again. I throw on an outfit, I don't know what it looks like, but I can feel what it should look like. From the way it feels, I'm wearing a blue(I know my father wouldn't have me wear any other color) t-shirt and a skirt, cut in the middle, over shorts. I pick up my hairbrush, that is always placed on my bedside table, and brush my chin-length midnight-blue hair quickly. Only then do I put my shoes on and go downstairs.

I cannot sense my father when I come downstairs, I very often do. So I go outside, into our garden. I stand in the grass and take my shoes off. And then I can see. And I grin in victory.

The reason I can see is because I can sense chakra, really, really well. But only out of my feet. In training, I learned that everything has chakra, not only ninjas. Plants have chakra, objects have chakra, even colors contain chakra. And for some reason, my feet are extremely sensitive to this chakra. Therefore, I can see out of my feet.

Of course, I will not tell my father of this. He always insists on wearing shoes. And that only "uncivilized creatures" wear shoes. And so, I will always wear shoes around him. And even not around him. Right now my little disloyalty is eating me alive. I hate myself for that reason. But I cannot change it, and I will not. I put on my shoes.

This action turns out to be good, because a second later someone lands in front of me. I know it's my father.

"You're going to school," he growls.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ninja Academy**

As soon as I get to the academy and my father leaves, I take off my shoes. And then I can see everything. It's such a wonderful thing to see. I can read the numbers on the doors. I can see the floor beneath my feet. I can see the door I have to go into. I can see my hand reach out to the handle at the same time I hear the teacher inside announcing that there'll be a new student arriving shortly. That this girl is blind, so they should be nice to her. That her father is hard on her, so any kind of shyness shouldn't be counted as a weakness. And then I can see my hand frozen on the doorknob.

I can't go in there, not when they know about my weakness. Not when they know about how I am a disgrace to my family. But I know that this is just a weakness, something I have to push aside. And so I watch as my pale hand turns the door knob. I watch as the teacher grows closer as I walk towards him. I watch the scene change as I turn towards the students. I watch as many of them laugh at me. At my blindness. At this disgrace that is me.

"Hey, can you see this?" a rowdy boy with a chubby figure laughed as he threw a kunai at me. It was just a plastic kunai, I know, but in instinct, my kekkei genkai activated, right before the kunai would hit my head. Suddenly, the world was in black and white, but in slow motion. I dodge to the right, in normal speed, and take the kunai, spinning to face the boy who had thrown the kunai at me. Then I let it go.

Color returns to the world as the kunai flew through the air, barely visible to the human eye(and foot). It hits the boy directly in between the eyes, the momentum knocking him backwards. A smile starts to twitch on my face. To them, I had simply been a blur, maybe I hadn't even been visible. That is my kekkei genkai. I can slow down time for a few seconds at a time. I can also use the byakugan separately, but it takes more chakra than it would for the normal byakugan user.

The teacher frowns at us. I wince, expecting a beating. I've learned from my father that grown-ups can be tough, especially when it comes to kids. But the teacher just pointed to an empty seat.

"That seat next to Yoshiro is empty. Yoshiro, come guide Ms. Uchiha to her new seat." The teacher says. I look at him. I don't need help. But when Yoshiro takes my hand, I don't argue. Now I see the boy on the ledge for the first time. He has black hair pulled into a ponytail on top of his head. His brown eyes have a forever bored expression stuck in them.

As soon as I sit down, the teacher starts talking. "Now, Ms. Uchiha, we're going to be taking the ninja test tomorrow. I know your father has home-schooled you, correct? Yes. And that brings me to a reminder for the class. Tomorrow we will decide whether or not you are worthy to become a ninja to protect this village. We will not be meeting in the academy, but at the village gate. Remember to be there at 6 am. And now for our lesson…"

I don't listen as the teacher teaches. I don't want to. My father has already gone over all this with me, and even taught me more than I'm supposed to know. Since I've come to this minute, I've heard people in the village say that my dad is tough on me, maybe even abusive. But I know my dad is just doing what's best for me. I think.

"Ms. Uchiha?" The teacher says, breaking into my thoughts. I feel suddenly alert, and scared. But I look at him with a questioning glint in my eyes. "Are you paying attention?"

I nod, speechless.

"Then answer the question." he orders and, to my relief, repeats the question. "Who saved this town and cares and loves his people? How did he gain power and what did he do to help us poor people out?"

I am stunned by this question, I don't know who cares and loves his people. Who saved the town. I am guessing this man is talking about the man who calls himself hokage, but the hokage is _not _nice. But I answer, "I-I assume y-you are talking about the h-hokage. B-But the thing is…th-the h-hokage is cruel, and didn't s-save us. H-he inherited the t-title f-from h-his father, who inherited it from h-his father…a-and th-the man who s-started it all was the eighth h-hokage, w-who killed the seventh h-hokage, N-Naruto Uzumaki. A-And h-he made all the civilians m-move to the outskirts o-of town, so they would b-be killed first if there w-was an a-attack. H-He also claimed that he made the ninja of th-the village stronger, by making them work h-harder and go on m-missions much harder th-than they're capable o-of. H-He is horrible…"

"I don't know where you learned that," the teacher says, eyes narrowed, "but I suggest you don't repeat that to anyone else."

If I were normal, I would switch my gaze to the floor, but that is not possible for me, so I simply do nothing. I know what I'm talking about, but I know better than to argue with someone. My father showed me what happens when I argue with someone, especially an adult.

After sitting through the class, we are let out for an hour of lunch. I don't have any lunch, so I just walk outside and sit under a tree. I marvel at it. It's huge. And there's a swing attached to it. I notice the plastic kunai boy sitting in it. He notices me, too. His face squishes in anger.

"What are you looking at, blindey?" he fumes. I'm scared, too scared to move. But I do. The boy is acting like my father does sometimes. I know that when my father is like this, I should stay out of his way. I know that it probably applies to this boy, too. For all I know, it may apply to everyone. I soon find a new tree, and I sit under it. I suddenly sense another person to my right. It's just Yoshiro.

He's looking at me. My face starts burning, even more so when he grins lazily before assuming his former position. It takes me a few moments to get that he's staring at the clouds. The clouds. I look at them, too. It stuns me how they affect me. They're just…up there. Free.

"No! Let go of me!" I hear a voice protest. As it speaks, I hear it getting closer, and sense two chakras. I see, with my feet of course, two kids coming toward me. One is the chubby boy who's been being mean to me. The other is a girl with long blond hair pulled into a ponytail. She has blue eyes and is dragging the boy by his shaggy brown hair. She pushes him in front of me.

"Apologize!" she screams at him. He glares at her for a moment before returning his gaze to me. His mouth moves but I hear nothing. The girl screams at him to talk louder. His mouth moves again, but even with my enhanced hearing, I don't understand a thing he says. The girl screams at him again, and this time hits him.

"_Ow_! Okay, okay! I'm sorry, Miko! Okay?" he yells. The girl puts on a satisfied look, crossing her arms. She looks at me. I feel slightly intimidated and weak under her gaze. But she's so different from me, from my dad, from Yoshiro. She isn't weak, isn't strict, isn't lazy, doesn't give me a strange feeling in my heart…

Anyway, she smiles at me and says, "Hey, you're Miko, right?" I stammer slightly as I try to tell her that it's Miko_to_. But she continues anyway, "I'm Saki. Saki Yamanaka. I see you've met Yoshiro. You can have him, just stay away from Nao! He's _mine_!"

I shy away from Saki. I don't know what she's talking about. Boys? Does she know I have to marry a Hyuga? Doesn't everyone have an arranged marriage? My father told me that. I hope he was telling the truth. It'd be too hard to get someone to fall in love with me. I'm weak. I'm not good at anything.

"Don't infect her, Saki. I'm sure Miko doesn't need _you, _of all people, to help her. She seems pretty strong to me," Yoshiro tells Saki, which for some reason makes me blush furiously. Yoshiro is still laying against the tree, eyes squinting up at the clouds. I look at him, taking in every detail of him. And then I realize that he, too, had called me Miko, instead of Mikoto. What is with that?

"Oh, be quiet, Nara. Miko, stay with me and you'll be fine. Just stay away from that jerk Jiro Uzumaki, Emiko Hyuga and Mamoru Haruno and you'll be fine." Saki says, winking at the last part. Then she turns serious. Scary serious. She clenches her fists close to her sides and glares at me in a sudden mood swing that scares me to death. "And also: Stay. Away. From. _My_. Nao."

And then she merrily skips away, leaving me bewildered next to an utterly calm Yoshiro. I guess she acts like this all the time. How scary. If _I_ were to act like that, my father would _kill _me. Well, not _kill _me, that was the future baby's job. But he _would_ make me suffer even more. And that scares me. Why am I always so scared? I want to be strong. I want to impress my father. I want him to see that I'm worth something. That he didn't need to…

But I'm not going to go there. I'm not going to tell why. Ever. I'm never going to tell anyone about what my father did, nine years ago, when I was so little. I'm not going to tell about how he got a few teenage girls, and had babies with them. I'm not going to tell how he practically _murdered_ a few innocent girls to rebuild the clan. I'm not going to tell how they all died in a fire. I'm not going to tell about how my dad tries over and over again, because I'm not enough. I'm not going to tell.

"Are you okay, Miko?" Yoshiro's voice brings me back to reality. I can now feel tear trails on my face. I can now see how Yoshiro is staring at me worriedly. I can feel myself trembling and a comforting hand on my shoulder. It makes me feel even weaker. I know that I should answer Yoshiro, but I don't. I do nothing but try to dispel my horrid memories. They're terrible things. I hate them. I hate myself. But I don't hate my father. I don't hate those girls. I don't hate the kids that never made it. I don't hate the fact that I have to be the only one. I don't hate my fate. But I do hate myself. I'm so weak. But Yoshiro had called me strong, hadn't he?

I had no more time to ponder this, because at that moment, we are called back in to the academy. The next few hours go by slowly, until I can finally go home. I walk out of the classroom before feeling a hand on my shoulder. I look backwards to see Saki, smiling almost psychotically. She really does scare me, but in a good way. I like her. She's nice, and doesn't seem to judge me for being weak.

"I'll walk you home!" she announces, and I ponder whether that's really a good idea. But I know I have no choice, so I put my shoes on and the world goes black. I feel her take my hand and I start walking. And then I'm home. I can feel my father behind the front door, so I tell Saki to leave, and go inside. I'm bracing myself for whatever punishment I will get tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Tests**

I leave the house the next morning. I can feel my father's gaze on my back. And I know when it's gone. And when I know that, I take my shoes off, putting them in my bag. I walk a little farther before I meet two chakra signatures. I recognize them immediately. They're not nervous, as I am. Saki is excited and Yoshiro is bored. I don't think he knows why he came all the way out here to meet me. I don't know why, either.

As the three of us walk towards the gate, Saki talks. And talks. And talks. I don't know how she talks that much. My father would strongly disapprove of this girl if he met her, though I know he would still hate _me _more. But Saki is strange. Unless all girls act like that, but in that case, I would not be considered a girl. But I do wonder…

We soon arrive at the gate. I wonder what the test is going to be. It scares me. Why does everything have to scare me? But I put my head up, even though by doing so I can't see anything differently, and take my place in line. There is no introduction, no telling us what we'll be doing. We are just lined up, in front of a cave. And every so often, one of us go in. I go pale as Yoshiro goes in, then wonder why I'm worrying so much. And then, I go in.

As I enter a small room, the entrance, also the only exit, closes behind me. I look around. I can see everything, however. Even though it should be completely dark. I know that there is a man standing in front of me. It scares me.

"Are you Mikoto Uchiha?" the man asks. He has a deep voice. It feels like it rumbles in my chest. I wonder whether or not I should tell him. But he's already smiling. Then he lets out a maniacal laugh. "Of _course _you are. I think I know what I'm talking about. Come on, you're coming with me."

I do not move, but stammer a weak, "Why?"

Then he laughs manically again. "I want you to, what other reason is there? But seriously, I want your eyes, the most powerful eyes in the world. With them, I can rule the world. I can do anything I want. But first I'll need your eyes. So come with me, Uchiha brat."

"No."

My feet sense him tensing. "No?" he asks. "No? Did you say…_no_? _No_ one tells me…_no_. Got that? The last person who said _no_ to me _died_. Do you want that to happen to _you_, Uchiha brat? _No_, I bet the answer is that awful word, _no_. But you can't say that to me, got that?"

He is blazing, at the height of his anger. He is so scary, in a bad way. I let my kekkei genkai go. I can see everything in black and white. But this kind of the kekkei genkai is different. This time, everything is in normal speed. But I can see his chakra path. I take a step, pulling my arm back, and then forward as let loose a steady stream of chakra. It hits him, pushing him back into the wall. That's another thing about my kekkei genkai. I can use see like I would with the byakugan, then I can use strikes, and my kekkei genkai allows me to hit like I would up close. It let me use mid-range attacks rather than short-range attacks. If I work hard, maybe it will eventually work for long-range attacks.

I walk up to the man. He isn't moving. I can see a slight flutter of his eyes and know he's alive. I also know that I will kill him. But I remember what my father has told me. I have to question him first. So I lean in close to him and say, trying as hard as I can not to stutter, and ask him a question.

"Who do you work for?"

"Just an organization who wants to rule the world. Watch your back, Uchiha brat. We'll be coming for you." He's still smiling creepily. I watch him as the light slowly fades from his eyes. I don't ask him any more questions, but let him die peacefully. I know this was not the test. And after this, I'm not really nervous anymore. But I go to where I know the real test is supposed to take place and destroy the wall with a move I picked up with my sharingan a few years ago.

The wall crumbles and I walk into the room. There I see a bunch of confused teachers sitting behind a table. I look questioningly at the man I know was my teacher yesterday. He seems very confused, but clears his throat. He then orders me to perform clone jutsu. I'm stunned. I didn't know it would be this easy. But I quickly do the jutsu and receive my Konoha headband.

I walk outside and immediately find Yoshiro. I sit down with him and wait for Saki, who comes out last. I wonder if I should tell them; Wonder if I should burden them with problems that aren't theirs. After some debating, I decide not to. I silently go back to the classroom with everyone else. We all take our seats. Then the teacher starts talking.

"Good job, all of you. Everyone here passed the test. I will now start to group you in teams. First team, with Raiden Yūhi: Emiko Hyuga, Mamoru Haruno and Nao Hatake." That team leaves with their new teacher as I watch Saki hides her face, obviously displeased that Nao isn't on her team. But the teacher continues. Finally, he gets to team nine. "With Natsumi Sarutobi: Saki Yamana, Takumi Akimichi and Ken Nara. Team ten, with Hajime Mori: Mikoto Uchiha, Yoshiro Nara-" So far, so good. "-and Jiro Uzumaki."

_No_! I know that I will not be able to work with Jiro in a team. He obviously hates me. And I'm surprised that he's not complaining. Yoshiro is tugging my arm, and I realize that our sensei's waiting for us. I also realize that we're the only ones left in the room. Where did every one go?

And I'm not only weak, but stupid, too. I know that as I walk over to our young-looking sensei. He has short black hair and black eyes. He is entirely dressed in blue, something that I find comforting. He leads us through the village, until we come to an unfamiliar place called Ichiraku Ramen. I sit down, along with Yoshiro and Jiro. Our sensei sits next to me.

"I'm Hajime Mori. I like ramen and hate salads. My dream is to become the best teacher ever. Now you introduce yourself." he looks at me. I think he's strange. He never said we'd have to introduce ourselves. Oh, now I'm nervous…

"I-I'm M-Mikoto Uchiha. I-I like…well, I-I don't kn-know…Yoshiro and Saki. I-I hate…I hate m-myself f-for being weak… My d-dream is to f-fulfill my destiny. A-And that's it…" I stammer. And I hate myself for it. But I forcefully turn my head to look at Yoshiro. I expect him to take my worries away by talking. I wonder why I expect that.

He sighs. "My name is Yoshiro Nara. I like watching the clouds, and now that I've met Miko, I like being in her company. I hate things that are unnecessary, like Saki. Or Jiro's behavior. My dream is to grow up, and have a successful family with two kids: a boy and a girl. And then I will retire and watch the clouds all day with my wife. I will die peacefully in my sleep."

Jiro rolls his eyes. "That's so stupid! Okay, I like ramen! And I like to be powerful. I hate people who think they're better than me. My dream is to be the most powerful ninja who ever lived, and I will achieve that dream no matter what! Even if I have to plow through a hundred ninja who think they're better than me! That is my dream! And I will never retire, but stay a ninja my entire life! I will die in combat, known as a hero! I won't have time for family, nor to fall in love! Hear me out when I say this, and everyone know: I _will_ be the most powerful ninja! Ever!"

"Those are all very good dreams," Hajime states. I stare at him. He's definitely weird. "Anyway, tomorrow you will be tested again, so you better rest up and eat this ramen. It's on me. And tomorrow, meet here again."

I eat one bowl of ramen before going home. I rest for tomorrow.

I wait in the ramen stand for my teammates. They come, and our sensei comes not long after. Again, we follow him through town, this time ending up in the third training ground. I wonder why we are here. What is our test going to be? Needless to say, I'm nervous. I'm almost certain I'm too weak to pass.

Suddenly, Hajime is forming hand signs. I barely activate my sharingan in time to copy the jutsu that sends us underground. No, it makes the ground come up to surround us. I can tell that we're in an advanced network of tunnels. Hajime's voice echoes in the tunnel.

"Find the golden egg!"

"How? Whatever, actually. I'm going to go find it. I'll see you losers later," Jiro says as he starts walking away. I feel despaired. We have already lost a team member. I hope Yoshiro stays, but then I'd feel guilty, because I'd be relying on him rather than myself. I know that I'm too weak to be on my own. I'm so weak. Yoshiro turns to me and smiles. He says that he guesses that it'll be just me and him.

""M-More like just you…I-I'm s-sorry. I'm too w-weak to fend for my-" I'm suddenly stopped as Yoshiro grabs my shoulders roughly and puts his face close to fine, staring into my eyes with a strong intensity. I don't know why, but this makes me blush furiously. And besides being scared out of my wits…I think I kind of _like _it. But I barely have time to process these feelings before Yoshiro is yelling at me.

"Look, Miko, I know your dad is kind of abusive. I know you think he's just being stern. But how he acts is _not _how a normal dad acts. Your dad has lied to you. You're not weak and you're not useless. In fact, you're not even blind! You can see, what body part you use doesn't matter! I've only known you for two days, but it's enough for me to think of you as a friend, and I _won't_ have a friend being lied to by their own father! Now come on, be useful and find us that egg."

Even though he lets go, I still feel like he's holding me. I feel like _I'm_ the one stuck in my kekkei genkai. And it's scary. But I think…Yoshiro might be right. I think maybe…my father lied to me, because I'm blind and he's afraid. I think he was wrong. And I know that though I'm worth very little, I'm worth at least _something_, right? But that doesn't help me. It just makes me even more scared. _My father lied to me._

Pushing those thoughts aside, I activate my byakugan. I look around for a moment before grabbing Yoshiro's hand and guiding him through the tunnels. After a while, we come upon my target. I am thrilled to see it alive, although wounded. And my target is none other than: Jiro. And he's thrilled to see us.

"Go away! If you're here to help, I can handle myself! Wait, I bet you guys were the ones who set up that trap! I was too close, so you tried to kill me!" Jiro accuses. He goes on like that even as I tend to the wound in his chest that he got by springing a trap. "Hey, I said I don't need help! Get away from me, blind…blind rabbit!"

Once I'm done with his wound, I sit him up. I sit next to him and signal for Yoshiro to sit, too. Then I speak. And I'm surprised by how I sound. "L-Listen guys… W-We're a team now, so we should act like it. W-We need to stay together and keep each other strong. W-We need to deal with one another like family. I-I think that means we annoy each other to death, but love each other anyway…"

To my surprise, Jiro is the first to answer. "Actually, you're right, blind rabbit. I shouldn't be so mean to you guys, you're going to be helping me train to become the best ninja in the world, after all!" And he starts laughing. But a good, kind laughter. I can't help but smile, a rare thing for me to do. A feel a hand on my should and see Yoshiro smiling at me. He nods, and we all stand up, getting serious.

Then we all weave through the tunnels, me in the lead. Pretty soon, we are at the golden egg. And…it's just _sitting_ there. Jiro walks up to it. He reaches out to grab it. And then a body comes out of nowhere and knocks Jiro backwards, into us. I see our sensei standing there, ready for action.

"What?" Jiro whines.

"You didn't really think it would be that easy, did you?" Hajime asks. But I'm puzzled. I should have sensed him. Even if he was masking his chakra, I should have detected the slightest bit. I should have been able to warn Jiro. But I didn't and couldn't. If my father had seen that, he would have been so mad. He would have beat me worse than ever. And then I'm so scared, I can only stand there.

But then Yoshiro is charging, and so is Jiro. And what can I do but go along with them? We're all knocked backwards by some strange force. Yoshiro drags Jiro and me out of that tunnel. He sits us down and consults us. I see panic in his bored brown eyes. It scares me. I want him to be calm, to be happy.

"We need a plan." he says. This stumps me, even though it makes sense. We don't know anything about the guy, so how would we make a plan? "Jiro, go attack Hajime Sensei. Miko and I will analyze the fight. _Now_!"

So Jiro runs into a battle with Hajime. I watch with my sharingan activated as Jiro attacked. Then I switch to byakugan. And then…"I got it! Yoshiro, can you go distract Hajime with Jiro? I have a plan."

Yoshiro did as told. I know what to do. Surrounding Hajime is an invisible barrier of dirt, and this dirt, for some reason, blocks attacks. So I just have to get rid of this dirt and take that chance. Easy, right? Wrong. I rack my brain for an answer to the problem. Then I remember. Lightning beats earth, so I just need a lightning attack. There is one attack I can use…What is it called? Chidori. Chidori sharp spear is the one I'll use. I quickly run through the hand signs and then blast the barrier, which, to my pleasure, creates a hole. I activate my kekkei genkai. I rush into the barrier through the hole. I reach for the egg. And then the world is colored again and Hajime is sitting on top of me. I hear a timer go off.

"Uh-oh! Seems you're out of time!" Hajime exclaims exuberantly as he looks at a watch. But that breaks my heart. I know my father will be very displeased with me. I'm so weak. Yoshiro was wrong, after all. I sigh, because I'm ready to give up. But Hajime is still talking. "Don't worry, young pupils. You did not fail!"

"Wait, _what_?" Jiro voices my thoughts. We're so weak, how could we have passed? I stare at Hajime, puzzled. He's still on top of me so this is no easy task. Why won't he get off? And, more importantly, why did we pass? I asked that already, I know. It's just such a big shock.

"Yeah, the point was teamwork. The egg wouldn't have even appeared if the three of you didn't approach it all at once. But you worked together, so you found the egg! And that's why I'm passing you. To be physically strong isn't enough, you must always be mentally strong, and you need other people to keep you sane. Not only that, but the more people the better when it comes to a mission."

He's smiling. It makes me uncomfortable. But at least we pass. My father won't be disappointed with me now. At least not as much. I look at Yoshiro. Then I look at Jiro. They are my team. And I'm glad. They're strong. But now the thing I have to focus on is getting my sensei off of me.

After Hajime gets off me, we go to Ichiraku to celebrate. When we get there, three people are already there. My feet tell me that it's Saki with who must be her teammates. One is chubby, like Jiro, only more so, with light brown hair, black eyes and swirl marks on his cheeks. The other looks exactly like Yoshiro.

"Hey, Miko!" Saki calls from the stand, pushing back a hanging. She points at the chubby boy and the other in turn. "These are my teammates! This is Takumi Akimichi and this is Ken Nara, Yoshiro's brother! We're ninja, we passed the test! Did you guys pass the test? No, don't answer that! I'm sure you did! This is going to be so fun! We'll get to fight the bad guys and save the world!" As she said this, she pumps her fists in the air, in every possible direction. She knocks down a bowl of ramen, and doesn't seem to care as she goes on and on about "fighting the bad guys and saving the world". Soon, Jiro joins her ranting. Yoshiro and I just sit and order, while Hajime listens to the two go on…and on…and on.

I turn to Yoshiro. I mean to ask him why he never told me about his brother, but I don't get the chance. Because at that moment, three more kids push back the hangings. I look at them. One has long brown hair and the byakugan. I know who she is. Emiko Hyuga, one of the people Saki warned me about. Of course, she warned me about Jiro, too, and we're friends. One boy has pink (_pink_?) hair and emerald green eyes. I know he's another person that Saki warned me about. Mamoru Haruno. And the last has silver hair and black eyes. I notice that his left eyes has a scar on it. I wonder why. And from Saki's squeals, I know this is Nao Hatake.

"Oh, looks like this place is already full. I guess these kids must be drowning out their sadness. I'm guessing everyone here except us failed. I'm sorry, but this is now a ninja-only ramen stand, so you guys will have to leave." Emiko says in a calm, cool voice. Outside, I remain indifferent, while inside I am burning with envy. Why can't I be like that? I'm sure that's what my father wishes for. But Saki is already yelling at the other girl.

"Hey, for your information, _Emiko_, we _did _pass! Everyone here! So, you better shut up about being better than everyone! Right, guys?" Saki explodes at Emiko, then turns to us for support. When Yoshiro and I show no sign of getting involved, she turns to her teammates, who shrug and look away. Finally, she turns to Jiro, who nods and stands up. Only now do I stand. I can't let my teammate face this alone. I have to stick with him. And I also wonder where Hajime went. He's nowhere in sight.

"You guys, they're not worth it. Let's just leave." Yoshiro tells us. I look at him and nod. Jiro looks conflicted, switching his gaze from us to Saki to Emiko. Finally, he complies. Saki follows suit and sits back down. The smirk on Emiko's face disappears, and she also sits down, far away from Saki's team. I wonder where my team will go and I follow Yoshiro through the town. Eventually, he turns to us. He says, "I think it's time for us to go home. The sun is already setting. See you guys later."

I watch him walk away, then I realize I'm the only one who has not started home. So I start walking home. Eventually, I get to my house. My father is not there and I did not get to finish my ramen during the…_unfortunate _events, so I blindly (I had to put my shoes on, remember?) make myself dinner. After I've eaten, I go to my room and stay there all night, to avoid any trouble with my dad. Eventually, I fall asleep, wondering what will happen tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Mission: Two Merchants**

All we have done for the first two weeks of being ninja is C-rank missions. D-rank missions were eliminated after the seventh hokage was killed. But C-rank missions are still quite boring. Although I won't complain, I probably wouldn't be able to take anything else. I look at Yoshiro. He is bored. I look at Jiro. He is bored. We are waiting for our sensei to come so we can complete our next mission. He's late.

I sense him coming. He's running. Now he's in front of us. He starts speaking, "What are you guys doing? Come on, we're late, we're supposed to be escorting the two merchants. They're going to need help traveling back to their village. We're late, hurry up."

As he runs, I try to keep up. I know we're late. We were waiting for _him_. Eventually, we come upon the gate. Two people are waiting there. One has black hair and eyes. He is a man, taller than sensei. The other is a woman, with blue hair (like mine) and black eyes. She is shorter than sensei and is fat. No, that's not fat, that's…something I'm used to. It's a baby. She's pregnant.

"_Father, what's wrong with that woman? She's big." I asked. Even though I couldn't see, I'd felt the woman, and she was very big. Especially around the stomach. I couldn't imagine why. Everything else was normal. My father was glaring at me. _

"_She's pregnant. She has a baby inside of her. You see, when two people mix, they create life. And this woman and I created life. I want another child. You are not enough. You are weak. And I need another child so I can replace you."_

That sudden memory scares me. I hide behind Yoshiro, afraid, like my three-year-old self. I know I'm weak because of this. But pregnant women always scare me. I feel like they all want to…replace me. I know that this isn't true, but I'm still scared. Very scared. And I'm glad my father can't see me. Because then he would be mad. And I know I'm not enough for him, that he'll try to make me tougher. But it won't work, because I'll always be afraid.

"Hello. I'm Hajime Mori, and these are my students. This is Jiro Uzumaki, Yoshiro Nara and Mikoto Uchiha. We'll be escorting you to your village." Hajime says pleasantly to the couple. I don't know why he's being so friendly. Shouldn't he be scared? No, he's strong, unlike me. Yoshiro and Jiro are strong, too. It's just me. I'm weak.

We start walking. Hajime takes the lead with Jiro, the two merchants are behind them and Yoshiro and I are in the back. I look at Yoshiro. He looks so calm. I wish I could be more like him, but I know that I'll never be like that. I know.

A day passes. Two days and we're in a different country. When we get into this country, Hajime turns to us and tells us to be careful, bandits will be all over the place. Bandits. My father told me about bandits. I remember what he said.

_He knocked me to the ground during training. He stared at me with cold eyes until saying, "Mikoto… All bandits are going to want your eyes. If you ever meet any bandits… Kill yourself."_

I gulp. I don't want to kill myself. I hope we don't run into any bandits. That would just be horrible. We seem to pick up pace. We walk the rest of the second day. Now it's the third day. It's about noon, and we've stopped at a tea shop. The pregnant lady is breathing heavily. I hope she's okay. And to make sure she's okay, I watch her as she brings her cup of tea to her lips. And I watch as she drops the tea, gasping and clutching her stomach. I know what's happening. I've seen this many times. So I decide that it's up to me to take charge.

"Yoshiro, set up a tent," I order. "Jiro, go find a medic! Hajime, help me!"

Yoshiro is already done with the tent. I take the woman, along with her husband and Hajime, inside. Then I begin to do all I can, which isn't much. To be honest, I've never done this before. I've seen my father do it, but I've never done it myself. I'm glad I had Jiro go out to find a medic. He pushes a tent curtain beside and faints. I have no time to tend to him. I'm just glad there's a medic with him. I leave the tent and drag Jiro out as soon as I can.

I turn to Yoshiro, who's leaning against the wall lazily. He doesn't seem to care about what's going on. I cross the room and stand next to him. We stand in a companionable silence. Soon, a few people enter. They are fully equipped with swords and seem to have on armor. The one in front marches up to the counter. He slams his fist on the counter and glares at the tea lady, demanding sake.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't have any sake." the lady tells him. He continues staring at her but unsheathes his sword. This makes the lady really uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, but we really don't have any-"

The man swipes at her neck, but before the blade hits, he freezes. He's still trembling the slightest bit, though. I wonder why, and look at Yoshiro. Oh. It's because of Yoshiro. He is crouched down, his hands formed into a seal. He looks at me, and he doesn't have to say anything, I know what he's thinking. I nod and take out a kunai, getting into a fighting stance. The group does the same with their swords.

I smile and put my kunai away. I activate my kekkei genkai and the world goes black and white. I get into the Hyuga's gentle fist stance. I look at the group for a weakness. I make my back hand shift, so that it's facing the end man on the right. I move it forward just a little, pushing chakra through that chakra point as I do so. I see the man fall. None of his friends seem to notice. They're still waiting for me to make a move. I focus behind them to who I think is the leader, the frozen one. I move my back hand to aim at him, once again moving it forward only slightly, and pushing a little chakra through. It hits him. His idiot friends don't notice a thing. So I take a full step forward and thrust my hand at the guy in the middle. He goes down and the whole group notices. They all rush towards me.

But when they've covered half the ground between me and them, a wind that is so forceful that it cuts them knocks them backwards. This, of course, came from Yoshiro, who is now standing just as nonchalantly as before. I look at the tent. The medical ninja is just now coming out. He smiles at us and gestures for us to go inside. We do.

The woman is beaming, holding her baby close to her. The man is smiling just as much. Hajime is also smiling. I look at the baby. I sigh and wonder why people make such a big deal about these things. I definitely won't, for my baby will be the death of me.

"It's a girl!" the woman squeals. "Her name will be…hm…how's Mikoto sound?"

I smile half-heartedly. So? Why do I care? I don't voice my opinions, of course, but I go outside to wake up Jiro, just so I have something to do. He wakes up as soon as I start shaking him. I sit down next to him, waiting for the others to be done in the tent so that we can go. The tent rustles and I look up to see Yoshiro. He walks over to me.

"I want to talk to you," he says. I get up and follow him outside. Once we are out of earshot of the others, namely Jiro, he starts talking again. "It's about those bandits. Do you know what you did to them? You killed them! I don't think you know what that means. I…I just knocked those guys out with that jutsu, I can't kill anyone! And I won't, because I know what it means."

"My family, whenever it expands, and I start to love someone else, they all…leave. It leaves just me and my father. And I've gotten used to it. So, no, I do not mind killing. And, no, I do not mind when someone close to me dies. And, maybe I don't know what it means anymore. But I can't change that, Yoshiro."

"I…" Yoshiro starts. I shake my head, and start walking back to the tea shop. He stands, dumbstruck for a moment, before following me. When I get into the shop, I slump down next to Jiro. Yoshiro enters and sits down on the other side of Jiro, who looks from Yoshiro to me and back again.

"What did you do to Blind Rabbit, Hurricane Indolent?" he asks. I am actually kind of glad for his nicknames. It cheers me up a little. At least I'm not Hurricane Indolent. Yes, take that, Yoshiro!

After a few minutes with no sign of Hajime or the couple, I leave to explore the town. Or what's called a town. There's just ten buildings lined up around the road. This is actually the biggest town I've seen since leaving the village. I remember looking at a book once and seeing a picture of a town during the seventh hokage's time. I wonder what happened. All the development that's happened to this world is that it's become more savage…

All because one man died. After a dictator took over the Fire Country, it seems that everyone else felt more powerful, and did the same thing. Now all countries are ruled by dictators, most of them horrible people. The world is unbalanced, and has been unbalanced for a long time. Someday someone might make the world balanced again. But not me. No, I'm weak, and I don't care about people's lives, apparently.

"Miko?" Yoshiro's voice asks from behind me.

"Yes?"

"…It's time to go."

"Of course."


	5. Chapter 5

**Of Brothers**

The rest of the walk is just as much of an annoyance, if not more. With the baby crying every ten seconds and with Yoshiro not talking to me and Jiro not talking to Yoshiro and me not talking to either one of the boys, it's a long walk. Not only that, but the lady merchant seems more on edge than ever, something Hajime explained as "baby blues". I know a lot about babies, but I don't know anything about mothers. I've never had any experience with one, after all.

Eventually, we make it to the island on which the merchant's village is located by boat. I look around. There is a volcano a long ways away, I think on a different island, and a town before us. It's a huge town by my standards. There are actually many roads and buildings, like my village. We walk into town and are instantly greeted by a band of people, probably the family's extended family. We hang back, watching the happy reunion. I stand stock still until I feel a tug on my skirt. I look down and see a little boy, maybe seven years old. I bend down to his level.

"Are you a ninja?" he asks, to which I answer yes. "C-Can you help me? A dragon took my parents."

"A-A dragon?" I ask, stupefied. I look up at Hajime, who is tapping his chin thoughtfully. Eventually, he leaves. I sigh in relief. He's going to do something. But then I freeze. No, this is not a good thing. If Yoshiro isn't talking to me and Jiro isn't talking to him and I'll only talk to Jiro right now…we're in trouble. No one's going to listen to each other.

"Tatsuo!" a boy calls, running towards us. His golden hair bounces on his head, and his chocolate brown eyes gleam with both caution and worry. He is tall and lean, and runs fast. Almost as fast as a ninja. "Ugh! I told you not to worry anyone with our troubles! It's happening to everyone!"

"Everyone?" Jiro asks, raising an eyebrow. I have the urge to raise an eyebrow, too, but I know I'd look ridiculous. The boy who yelled at the younger boy, Tatsuo, only now seemed to notice us. He looks at Jiro, then Yoshiro, then me. And then he grins, nonchalantly.

"Yeah," he says. "Everyone's had a family member taken. But the members are often eighteen years or older. It's weird. He seems enraged about something. He just comes in screeching and roaring, and then he lands, and continues to screech and roar, and then he just sits there. And after that, he takes someone."

"No! That's wrong!" Tatsuo yells in a baby voice. "The…The dragon comes in, but he's not screeching and roaring, he's saying, 'My child! My child! Someone help my child!' And then when he lands, he's saying, 'My child is sick! Help me, humans; someone must make a sacrifice today!' And then he's waiting for someone to answer him, but no one does. So, he yells, 'Please understand! I need help!' And he takes someone to help him."

I stare at the child in shock. A dragon needs people to help his child? That doesn't make any sense. I stare at the wild-haired, wide-eyed child. He seems to have worked himself into a frenzy. I look at the older boy. He is shaking his head pitifully.

"My little brother thinks the dragon is talking. He's always been slightly crazy. I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself," he says as he blushes (_blushes_?) slightly and runs his hand through his hair. "I'm Taro and this is my little brother, Tatsuo. We live on another island, the one with the volcano. We come here for school."

"I'm Jiro, the strongest ninja ever!" Jiro says with a grin. He points at me. "This is Blind Rabbit and _this_…is Hurricane Indolent."

I roll my eyes and step up, taking the boy's hand and shaking it, as my father has taught me to do. I somehow keep from stuttering as I introduce us. "Mikoto Uchiha, though most people seem to call me Miko for some reason. Jiro is Jiro, and Hurricane Indolent is Yoshiro Nara. We've come here from Konoha, we were sent to escort those two merchants home. Can you…tell me more about this dragon?"

"Wait, what?" Jiro says. "You're not going to try to _solve _this problem are you?"

"Yeah, Miko," Yoshiro adds, finally talking to me. "I hate to admit it, but I agree. This is a C-rank mission, and we're not supposed to delay the travel to get home. Why do you want to do this?"

"B-Because, Y-Yoshiro. I-I need to prove to you that while I don't hesitate to take action, I'm _not _heartless!" I say, starting with my usual stammer, then gain force as I continue to speak, and end in something like a yell. He stands stunned, not moving. Jiro and the brothers mimic him exactly. I turn, my hair bobbing slightly from the force, and talk to Taro. "Tell me more about the dragon."

Taro shakes his head and then runs his hand through his hair again. He shrugs. "There's really nothing more to tell. The dragon is red, and has a scar over its left eye. He lives in the volcano."

"W-We have to go to the v-volcano." I declare, and am slightly disheartened that my stutter has returned. But I turn to Taro, and say, "P-Please take u-us to the v-volcano. Y-You don't have to c-come with, b-but sh-show us how to get in."

He runs his hand through his hair once again and shrugs…again. Then he lets out a little laugh and finally says, "Sure. Follow me. We'll take a boat to my island, then I'll get you into the volcano. Then you can take care of the dragon."

"All right. Let's go." I say, and follow as Taro strides through town. I look at the town. It looks to be in good condition, better than Konoha. Everyone is talking to one another, the people seem to be nicer here than in my village. We reach the shore. Taro goes into one of the buildings that are made of splintery wood. I wait awkwardly with my teammates and little Tatsuo. The little boy seems attached to me. He holds onto my hand and refuses to let go. He looks up at me with those big brown eyes. I smile down at him, hoping to calm him. He only stands closer to me.

Now Taro comes back out, and motions for us to follow him. We walk onto a long dock, one that goes on out of sight. But we keep walking, halfway across the long, long dock. And we reach a boat. It's a little boat, more like a canoe than a ship, like I was expecting. But I climb in after Taro, Tatsuo still holding onto me, my teammates right behind me.

The boat sways as we get in, and I grab the side uneasily. I wonder if I really am doing the right thing, if I should wait for Hajime to finish doing whatever he went to do. I glance at Yoshiro and Jiro, who are in front of me. I see Taro climbing over them, then me, to get in the back. He takes an oar, and hands one passed me to Jiro. Then he pushes away from the dock and out to the ocean. Tatsuo climbs onto my lap and hangs onto me, wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his face into my chest. I awkwardly hug him. How am I supposed to comfort someone when I can't even comfort myself?

I wince as the salty water splashes into my face from Jiro's oar. I sigh and look at the now empty sea. I see a dragon above. Wait, a dragon? I watch in awe as he screams, flying with giant wings. He's so big, and the closer he comes, the bigger he is, and the more awed I am. Wait, why is he coming over here?

Behind me, Taro drops his oar and flings himself over the seat, then tackles me, which completely conceals Tatsuo. I can't see anything but Taro's golden locks in front of my eyes, which is weird, considering that I can only see out of my feet. I close them, and when I open them again, Taro is nowhere to be seen.

Tatsuo is crying, dampening my shirt, but I barely notice, I'm just staring into the ocean, to where the dragon most likely disappeared.

"Miko? Miko?" I look to Yoshiro, who keeps repeating my name. I huffily ask what he wants, I'm not in the mood to talk. I'm a failure. "We have to go after him. You know that we can't back out now."

I stare at the ocean again. I don't know what to say. I failed, I shouldn't have any say in this. Why is everyone looking at me like I should know what to say? I look with anger at my two teammates. Then I look down at the innocent face of Tatsuo. There's only one thing to do, but I strongly doubt it will work, dumb as I am.

"T-Tatsuo?" I ask gently. He tries to blink away his tears, then gives up, and just looks at me attentively. I take a deep breath before asking him my question. "C-Could you u-understand what the d-dragon was s-saying?"

Tatsuo looked stunned for a second, and then nodded his head. "He…He was calling Taro's name. That's all. I-I don't know why."

I look at him, then at my teammates, puzzled. They both shrug, so I look down at Tatsuo again, hoping he'll be able to explain more. He just sits there, looking as if he's contemplating something. Then he speaks up again.

"My family…have I certain skill, where we can understand what animals have to say. But…my parents don't seem to have inherited that skill, and my brother…he doesn't like it. He says it doesn't exist and that it's just my imagination. My brother is overprotective, and doesn't like that skill, he thinks it will taint my brain…and his. But I like it. I'm the only one on the island, besides Taro, who can use it."

"B-But we still n-need to find Taro. D-Do you know wh-where this v-volcano is?" I ask. Tatsuo nods and point in a certain direction. I grab Taro's oar and start rowing along with Jiro. I only hope that once we're there, we'll be able to save Taro.


	6. Chapter 6

**Of Dragons**

Once we get to the volcano, I can hardly believe my eyes. The volcano towers above us, larger than anything I have ever seen. I try not to think that we'll have to climb up that, for I know that I won't make it. I stare at Jiro, Yoshiro, Tatsuo. Will they be strong enough to make it?

Yoshiro and Jiro exchange looks and nod. I already know that they're planning to go up the mountain. I sigh, and tell myself that if they can do it, I can do it. I crouch down, allowing Tatsuo to climb onto my back. I grab his legs and do a sort of jump, to bounce him up higher. Then I focus my chakra to my feet, like my father told me to do when I climb trees, and start to take steps up the volcano, Jiro and Yoshiro not far behind.

I climb all day, trying to ignore my dry mouth and aching muscles. My chakra has dwindled, so that I can't hang on like I could at the beginning. Every time I take a step, I slide back half a step. It's not very pleasant, or quick. I try to tell myself that at least I'm getting somewhere, but my body loudly disagrees with that optimism.

Soon, about halfway up, which should have been reached a long time ago, I find a ledge, big enough for four people to rest on. I decide to take a break here, and only now realize that the sun is setting. I drop to the ground and take my supporting arms out from under Tatsuo. My teammates come a little after me, panting, and falling down on the cool stone.

"Well," Jiro says, "I guess we better build a fire and camp here for the night."

I nod my consent, and watch as Jiro rifles through his backpack, then pulls out a few framed pieces of paper and a match. I stare at the paper for a few moments before exclaiming incredulously to the boy, "These are family photos!"

He shrugs. "Hey, that was a long time ago when my family was actually complete. Since then, my father left, my mother can't go a minute without being drunk and my sister keeps trying to run away or murder us all. Not really a family, if you ask me."

"My family is just me and my father. He's strict, and I guess just a little abusive. He's not really the supportive father most people would want." I add to the conversation, wondering why I'm telling this to the boy. Then, I turn to Yoshiro, to end the awkwardness, "What about you, Yoshiro?"

He snorts, and puts his hands behind his head as gazes up at the sky. "Well, I don't have any sob stories like the rest of you. My family is perfectly normal, my parents are out fighting all the time, my older sister takes care of me and my little sister. Darn women. Sometimes, I wish that my parents could be home, and that this world could just be at peace.

"But I don't know if peace is possible anymore. Not without major sacrifices, anyway. Because the countries will never again see eye to eye, like in the famed Forth World War. Everyone fighting a common enemy and whatnot."

Something about that last part sparks something in my brain, but I'm too lazy to figure out what amazing idea I just had. But I also agree with Yoshiro, without major sacrifices to end our conflict, will we ever see peace again?

I shake my head, clearing it of thoughts, and lie down to drift into a deep sleep.

I wake up at dawn, my muscles ache and my head throbs, but I get up, anyway. I look at my still-sleeping friends, then up at the volcano that we still have to climb. I'm not sure I'll be able to do it, but I know that I must, to prove myself to Yoshiro. I'm not selfish. I actually have feelings, like a normal person. I care about Taro and these poor people!

And Yoshiro.

I rifle through Jiro's bag, searching for something to eat, and soon come out with a single rice ball. I quickly eat it, then shake the others awake. Tatsuo jumps straight up, but Yoshiro and Jiro are a little more…problematic. I have start kicking them before they react to my weak attempts to get them up.

"I'm up, I'm up," Jiro grumbles, while Yoshiro mutters about "troublesome women". I have to hold in giggles at my teammates and realize that I am really happy that they entered my life. I smile at Yoshiro, and he shyly returns my shy smile.

"Hey, I don't have to worry about you two getting serious, do I?" Jiro asks, eyeing us suspiciously. I glare at him, and he has the nerve to start laughing. Tatsuo looks, at us, confused. Pretty soon, we're on our way up the mountain once again. By the end of the day, we're at the top. The crater nearly bubbles over with lava.

"What're we gonna do?" Jiro whines, looking pathetically at the lava. I shrug. Now or never. I shove Tatsuo into Jiro's arms, silently instructing them to stay here, while I take Yoshiro's hand and look at the red-orange monstrosity below. Well, now or never.

I jump, dragging Hurricane Indolent with me. And…I don't feel the lava, I don't feel any pain. I just feel…normal…and like I'm falling. I open my eyes and find out that I am falling, which makes me grip Yoshiro's hand even tighter than my already-strangling grip.

Finally we drop onto the floor, landing lightly, on our feet, with no harm done to us. I stare at Yoshiro, who looks completely calm. He looks at me and smirks. I start walking, dragging him behind me. Pretty soon, we enter a chamber. It smells like smoke, and is packed with people. Taro is close by.

I walk over to him and he looks up, delighted to see us. "Ah, there you are! This dragon is being completely ridiculous! He keeps snarling at us, and refuses to let us go. I mean, he's not eating us or using us for his own good. Why is he doing this?"

I sigh at Taro's ridiculousness. "I know you can understand the poor dragon, Taro."

He pales. He stammers. He apologizes. He cries. I am disgusted. I'm weak, but not that weak. I think I even lost my stammer. But I grab Taro's shirt, and drag him and Yoshiro to the front of the room, where there's a giant door. I drop the two and examine the door. It seems to need fire to open. Alright, then.

I step back and perform a few hand signs to the fire ball jutsu, something my father taught me when I was but a few years old. I perform it expertly, and the door opens slowly, creaking slightly. I grab Taro again, but Yoshiro reminds me that he can walk, so I only have to carry half the weight.

As I walk into the room, I realize that it's more smoky before, and a few feet in, Yoshiro actually grabs my arm to guide him around the room. I remember that smoke affects the eyes' sight. Knowing that, I smirk slightly at my ability. But I walk up to the dragon at the end of the room, who is giant. He's red, and regards me haughtily with his fierce golden eyes. I stand Taro up and bow to the dragon.

"I understand that something is wrong with your son that only us humans can fix. What is it that we can do?" I ask, trying not to let myself be intimidated by the condescending dragon. I glance at Taro as the dragon starts growling. Taro seems to understand, because he's biting his lip and sweating, as if hearing something he really doesn't want to.

"He…He says that the sickness only his son had has spread to his other two children. And only humans, ninja particularly, can help with it. But…they'd have to act as…as…jinchūriki." Taro squeezes out. I narrow my eyes at him, wondering if he meant what I think he meant.

"You mean, the dragons would have to be sealed into us?" Yoshiro asks the question that's caught in my brain. Taro nods, and I have a sick feeling inside of my stomach. Despite this, to prove to myself and Yoshiro that I am not who either of us think. I tilt my chin up to the dragon, even though I can already see him just fine.

"I'll let one of your children be sealed into me." I declare, and Yoshiro quickly follows my lead. Taro looks at both of us, and then away. He can't help anymore. But I know someone who can. "Master Dragon, have one of your…er…dragons fly to Konoha, and pick up a Saki Yamanaka. She'll help your third child."

He regards me for a moment before giving a mighty roar. Taro shakes his head when I look at him questioningly, wondering if the king is mad. It turns out that he had just sent a dragon to Konoha. I only hope that the beast isn't shot at. In a few minutes, the dragon flies into the room, with Saki. She jumps off and runs to me. The dragon leaves.

"What the heck was that, Miko?" she yells, punching my arm, quite gently, I assure you. "I had no idea what that thing wanted, he just tore the roof off my house, and I was just like, well, I better get on. Why would you do that to me?"

I sweat-drop as I begin to explain the events leading up to her…"capture". She finally crosses her arms and just nods. She regards me out of her baby-blue eyes. Then she laughs.

"You sure have grown, haven't you, Miko? Sure, I'll help you guys!" she exclaims, and then looks confused. "But why didn't you ask Jiro to help?"

"He has to take care of Tatsuo, and I know he's already powerful enough, and he's just not responsible enough for something this powerful and important!" I rant quickly, while Saki looks more and more entertained. Finally, she laughs.

"Well, let's do this!" she exclaims looking at the dragon. He nods and reaches over to her and starts drawing a diagram on her right shoulder…with his claw! She doesn't make a sound as her skin is pierced, just looks…happy. Finally, he stomps his paw on the floor, and something blue and ghostly hits Saki full force in the shoulder. This time she grits her teeth and clenches her hands into fists. Finally, the blue lets up and she sighs and relaxes.

The same thing happens to Yoshiro, only for him, he stands bored the whole time, and barely reacts when the blue hits him. Then the dragon turns to me, and starts drawing the diagram on me. I close my eyes, which really doesn't do anything, as I tense, all the time cursing myself for being weak, and when the blue force hits me, I feel like I was dropped into a stampede. And then, it stops. I open my eyes, which is still a useless thing to do, and relax. The dragon is nodding in gratitude. I know then that I made a good decision.

And then Taro collapses, causing Saki to scream in astonishment and everyone to rush to his side.


	7. Chapter 7

**Of Sickness**

We got Taro out of the room and to the island quickly, thanks to a kind dragon. We find an inn for a bed to put Taro down. I look at him, wondering what's wrong with him. We get a medic to look at him, but she can't find any damage on him, except his lungs. But she can't diagnose exactly _what _happened, and can't save him. And so the poor boy loses his life, in front of our very eyes. And I…I don't mind a bit. The others break down, crying for a lost life, but I, I stand as though nothing happened, as though this is completely normal for me. And it is. But right there I realize. I realize that I'd rather be weak with feelings than strong and without, not at all how my father taught me. I lay my hand on Taro's cold forehead. And I bless the boy.

"I think I just figured out what happened." Yoshiro says, looking at Taro. "It was the smoke, he couldn't take the smoke, and he must have had a breathing problem to begin with, and the smoke just finished him off."

"It's as you said, Hurricane Indolence." Jiro says, just as sadly. "No peace ever comes without sacrifice."

But before anyone can respond, Saki goes into a coughing fit, tumbling onto the ground. I call out her name along with the others. The medic quickly rushes to her, then clears the room. I hope she'll be all right. But I know she's sick, she might be facing the same thing Taro did.

The four of us talk amongst ourselves, and decide that Yoshiro and I should talk to the dragon about the sickness while Jiro stays with Tatsuo. Jiro is happy to comply, and Yoshiro and I start on that Hellish volcano.

We get into the volcano a day later, and kneel in front of the dragon. Then I speak.

"We want to know what to do now." I tell him, bowing my head, half because I don't want to look at his fierce eyes, and half out of respect. He snorts. And when he speaks, I can actually understand him.

"What do you mean?" his voice sounds like he's scoffing.

"Well, surely whoever did this wanted to get the whole population sick." I say. "I mean, dragons don't usually get sick, right?" I am just guessing at all this. I have no idea whether dragons get sick. But when I look at the dragon's face, it's considering. Finally, after an eternity, he speaks.

"You're right. I don't think this was an accident. I want you to find the culprit." He orders. And what can I do? I can't say no to a dragon, and I can't leave Tatsuo to face this alone, the poor thing.

"Okay."

As we walk back to the village that Tatsuo and Jiro are in, we run into the two merchants, who are carrying the baby. There's a man with them. They look down at me and smile.

"Oh, hello," the woman says, "we've never properly met, have we? I know you're Mikoto and Yoshiro. I'm Michi, and this is my husband, Lee, and my brother, Kazuki. And, thank you for delivering us safely to this village. We are forever in your debt."

Yoshiro nods once at her. "Thank you." Then he pulls me along and whispers in my ear, "They're really nice, aren't they?"

"Sure."

We reach a bench where Jiro and Tatsuo are talking, and walk over to them. Jiro looks questioningly at us. We sit down and explain everything that just happened, including meeting the merchants.

"So, who is it?" Jiro asks.

"We don't really know," Yoshiro says, eyeing Tatsuo nervously before adding, "But I think I have a suspicion."

"Who's that?" Tatsuo asks, oblivious.

"Your parents."

"_What_?"

"Taro was suspicious, you saw how he wanted to keep you from finding anything out. Maybe your parents are the same. They're suspects, I'm sorry." Yoshiro explains.

"But…They're my parents!" Tatsuo yells, tears pouring out of his eyes.

"He's right." I say before Yoshiro can say anything else. "I don't find them suspicious. But I don't like those merchants."

"Miko…" Yoshiro starts. I shake my head.

"How 'bout Yoshiro and I follow Tatsuo's parents while Tatsuo and Miko follow the merchants?" Jiro offers, much to my gratitude. I nod, but then a thought occurs to me.

"Tatsuo is only a child!"

"I'll be fine!" Tatsuo says at the same time Jiro says:

"He'll be fine!"

I roll my eyes before taking Tatsuo's hand and leading him to a house. I then look him in the eyes, even though I can see his eyes just fine with my feet. I'm trying more to intimidate him than anything.

"You're really sure you can do this?" No matter how weak I am, Tatsuo is still my responsibility. It's up to me to make sure he's safe. He nods, keeping his eyes locked unto mine. I smile reassuringly at him before standing up and using my feet to find the location of the merchants. Then I place a metal chip in Tatsuo's ear, and one in mine. Then I give him instructions. "Just follow them, so that you can hear them, I'll tell you if I need you to move, okay?"

"Got it! Let's go!" he says eagerly, and I watch with sad eyes as he starts to run away. I feel really bad about dragging him into this situation. I wish I could do more to protect him. I watch with my feet as he rushes to where I had instructed him to go. I just want to protect him, like the little step-brothers and sisters I couldn't.

No, that can't be what this is all about, can it? I surely wasn't affected like that. I don't care about that. Then why can't I get over this?

I shake my head, trying to clear it. I just focus on Tatsuo and the merchants. I see him walk over to them and start talking. I can't hear a thing. What is he doing?


	8. Chapter 8

**Of Suspicions**

"Tatsuo? Tatsuo? Say something!" I call frantically into the air, knowing that the connection between the chips will allow him to hear it. His stance shifts uncertainly and he says something to the merchants. Then I hear I click.

"They said that they never even knew of the dragons in the volcano. Do you still want me to follow them?" Tatsuo's voice gives me great relief.

"Yes, keep following, please." I tell him. I can't even take the flood of relief in me. I sit back and decide to take a look at the couple's family. I get up, dust myself off, and head off for the merchant family's house. It is a ramshackle building, and it kind of scares me, it's so creepy.

I creek open the door, and call a greeting. I say that I am coming in. No one

answers. I snoop around a bit. Downstairs is a kitchen and a few bedrooms. Upstairs is more bedrooms. I guess the whole family lives here. I walk into a random room and look around. There is a dresser in one corner, and a bed in another. That is all that's in the room.

As I walk around the house, I notice that all rooms look the same. Exactly the same. I wish I knew what room is the merchant couple's. Then I realize. Their room should have a drawer in the dresser for baby clothes.

As I rifle through the dressers in the house, all but one, I realize that there are actually a few kids in the house. None of them babies, however. Although, I've only been through nine of the rooms. With my luck(which is probably karma, since I'm not the best person in the world), the last room will be the couple's.

This prediction is correct, because as I rifle through the drawers, one of them contains baby clothes. I sit down on the perfectly made bed with the clothes once I've found them. Oh, all the baby clothes I've seen. They've all been wasted…Oh, my brothers and sisters. I so wish I wasn't responsible for so many dwindled lives.

A drop of water against my hand wakes me from my startled state. I angrily wipe my eyes and return the clothes. Now I have to find something, like a journal, to prove my suspicions. I think of all the obvious places to hide a journal or diary.

There's no journal between the mattress, or below the pillows. Not even in the drawers. The only place I don't have the heart to look is the underwear drawer. But, if the couple is really guilty, I'll need proof. So I open the underwear drawer(shared by the two…ew!) and close my eyes as I start rifling through it. I know closing my eyes doesn't really do anything, but it makes me feel innocent, knowing that if I could see, I wouldn't see a thing just now.

Finally, through the soft bras and boxers, I find something hard. I take it out, my heart pumping. I can already see the title, of course. But I haven't read it…I'm not ready yet. I know that my chances are high, because the title is big, and five letters long. I hug it to my chest as I feel someone enter the house. I have to get out, fast!

I see that my only option is the window. I brace my self, then burst through the glass. I get cut in several places, but I don't mind. I hear a yell and run, sprint, as fast as I can to…Hell, I don't know where I'm going!

Finally, I stop in a place, one that I recognize. It's the spot where I'm supposed to be monitoring the couple through Tatsuo from. But now, in private, I can read the title to the book I read it, and it says…

Birth.

Great. Simply wonderful. I risked my life for this book about…birth. Oh, well, can't be anything interesting, can it? I rifle through it, anyway. Yeah, nothing but the baby blues. Exactly what I need. Frustrated, I contact Tatsuo.

"Tatsuo?"

"Yeah?" His baby voice crackles.

"Did you find anything?"

It's a few moments before he speaks.

"No. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Tatsuo. But I think we should go back to the other two now. Okay?"

"…"

"Tatsuo?"

"Hold on."

I wait patiently for Tatsuo, and look with my feet to see the three engaged in conversation. The uncle of the child seems to get very angry, and storms out of sight. Well, the couple's sight. The couple sighs and shakes their heads simultaneously. Honestly, you'd think they're the same person.

Finally, Tatsuo comes back, "Sorry, Miko."

"What was that about?"

"Well, they got into an argument. The couple said that the dragons are a…ah…

"Nuisance," I supply.

"Yeth! A nuisance to their daughter. That the dragons could kill the humans anytime and no one would do anything about it.

"But the uncle says that the dragons are a tool, one that could bring these islands far above any nation…ever. The uncle wants the others to understand."

"Aha!" I cry, knowing that I'm probably hurting Tatsuo's ears, and instantly feel bad about it. I lower my voice and continue, "That's proof, then. The couple actually _said _that they hate the dragons. Good job, Tatsuo!"

I can barely contain my excitement. I'll finally prove to everyone that I'm worth something. I figured it out. And now justice shall be served.

I rush to tell Tatsuo to meet me in the place we were before, and I feel him quickly comply. Once he gets here, I set off to the other island, where I'm sure I'll find Yoshiro and Jiro. Hopefully.


	9. Chapter 9

**Of Arguments**

Yoshiro, Jiro, Tatsuo and I are sitting in a restaurant, one we don't actually plan to order from. I'm staring at nothing, or at least my eyes are. Yoshiro is looking at me intensely, as if trying to figure me out. Jiro and Tatsuo both have their eyes averted from all living beings.

"And so, that's why it is the two merchants," I finish telling the other two.

"No, that's not proof," Yoshiro argues. "It's just a political argument."

"Then what did you find?" I inquire, on the verge of blind fury. Seriously, what we found has to be actual proof.

"Well…we…ah…nothing," Yoshiro replies lamely. I almost give in to my fury. Instead, I raise an eyebrow.

"And you criticize _us_? At least we _found _something. At least _we _didn't spend our whole day and find _nothing_!" Now I'm giving in to my fury, all my fury, that's been building up for years and years. And it feels good to let it out. I stand up and bang my fists on the table. I start screaming, "How could you even accuse Tatsuo's family? They just had a huge loss, can't you see? And then you blame the parents! This is unacceptable!"

"No!" Yoshiro counters, standing up, yelling at the top of his lungs, "The way you're acting is unacceptable! Why do you even care about this when you don't care about _anything_? _Why_, Mikoto?"

"Because I _do _care, you bastard!" Now tears are streaming from my eyes, uncontrollable. "And if you can't see that, my own teammate, then I think I'll just leave! Happy?"

"Yeah, yeah, I am happy! Because we're leaving, too!" Yoshiro yells. "And unlike you, we'll actually find out who did this!"

I turn and leave the restaurant. Tatsuo is following me, but I don't care. I run to the docks and jump into a boat, not caring that everyone is yelling at me, not caring that I'm stealing. I kick away from the docks. I know that Tatsuo has just jumped into the boat, but I don't care. Because all the emotions that had been locked away for years and years are now spilling out. And before I know it, I'm in open water, not a land form in sight.

"You shouldn't argue with your teammates, Miko," Tatsuo squeaks. I look at him. He's curled up in a ball, looking at me with fearful eyes. I feel a pang of sympathy for him, but it can't cut through all those layers of emotions I already have. But it can calm me down, just a little bit.

"Why is that, Tatsuo?" I ask gently.

"Because, you never know when they'll be gone." Tatsuo replies, making me feel bad beyond belief. Poor Tatsuo, what did we do to him?

"Tatsuo, I'm so sorry…" I say, averting my eyes from the boy.

"No, Miko, please don't be," he says, and I am shocked by his maturity.

"Taro's death was our fault," I point out.

"No, it was the mystery murderer's fault," Tatsuo replies in his baby voice, hiding all of his maturity by pouting and crossing his arms. I almost laugh at his image. Such a child to be saying such words. Then he adds, "Besides, you don't know when they're going to die, anyway."

"No, no, I don't." I respond in a strained voice. The thought of Yoshiro and Jiro dying is overwhelming. I can't take that emotion. "Thank you, Tatsuo, you've brought me light again."

And I smile, because although my life was clouded with darkness before, I can defeat it now, with the small glimmers of light my friends give me. Yoshiro, Jiro, Saki and Tatsuo have all helped me get over my helpless feelings and thoughts. They have helped me realize that I'm not useless or weak. And when I'm with them, I actually have a purpose other than dying.

"Mikoto?" Tatsuo squeaks suddenly, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Yes, Tatsuo?" I ask, a soft grin on my face.

"Can we go back to the island now?"

I laugh. And I laugh some more, until I am strong enough to pick up the oars and row the small boat to shore. I am still laughing when I get there, and Tatsuo has caught the contagious laughter, too. I pick him up and get him out of the boat. We start to walk towards the restaurant we left Yoshiro and Jiro at.

"Hey, Tatsuo?" I ask, suddenly serious and…shit…scared.

"Yeah, Mikoto?" He asks, turning his cute, dark eyes to me.

"Why do you stay with me? Why are you so loyal to me?" I ask, almost frantically.

"Because…you're much nicer than Taro ever was. And you're strong and you believe in me. And…and…you've treated me like a brother. Taro took care of me, but you, you genuinely love me…like a brother!" And he is smiling, smiling at me, while praising me. I don't deserve it. I know I don't.

"Tatsuo…please…never say…" I feel a tear trickle down my cheek. Tatsuo doesn't see it. He's looking straight ahead. That's a good thing. If he saw me, he'd realize that I'm not strong. Or, maybe that would be a good thing.

We finally get to the front of the restaurant. Before I can get inside, Tatsuo grabs my hand. The little boy pulls me into a tight hug. I gently hug him back. He slowly lets go of me, and I smile softly before going inside to find Jiro and Yoshiro.


	10. Chapter 10

**Of Captives and Betrayals**

I soon realize that Yoshiro and Jiro are gone. I wonder where they went. Did they leave me behind on purpose? Or did something happen while I was gone? What in the world happened?

"Where are your brothers?" Tatsuo asked as I flinch slightly. He thought they are my brothers? Well, that's not the point. The point is that Yoshiro and Jiro are missing. What will I do?

"O-Okay…Let's…just…um…byakugan!" I cry while running out of the room, calling over my shoulder to the poor little boy, "I'll be right back! Stay here, please!" I trust the young boy to stay in the restaurant. He is one person who will actually listen to me. I smile to myself at the thought of the young boy, then focus on the task at hand.

I begin to search the island. First the top, then the bottom, the perimeter, the area, the other islands, in the ocean. Nothing. Yoshiro and Jiro are nowhere to be seen. I sigh, then use my feet to try to find them, but still find nothing. Their chakra signatures are nowhere to be found. I finally take a rest at the stump of a tree. Then I search to see if Tatsuo is still in the restaurant. He's not.

Great, now I have to find the three guys. Sitting down, I focus on the chakra around me. I look everywhere, then finally at the volcano. Ah, there's Tatsuo. He's at the edge of the volcano. He's staring down at it. And then he goes into it. He doesn't go where we went before, but finds a tunnel.

He goes through it, then comes out in a room. And there are Jiro and Yoshiro. Tied up and gagged. There's also the uncle, facing away from them, talking about something…

Tatsuo backs up and runs out of the place. I smile, glad to know where my friends are and the fact that Tatsuo is getting out okay. Now he's rushing to where I am. I wait patiently for him. Now he's here. I go out to meet him.

"Miko!" He cries. "I know where they are! They're in the volcano! And we were right…Kind of…It was the uncle! What'll we do, Miko?"

I listen to his despair and let him cry it out in my arms. I have a little longing for someone to hold me while I cry, too. But I know that would be weak. And I need to be strong. Especially now, for Tatsuo.

"Tatsuo, we're going to save them. Don't worry." I'm already thinking of what we can do in my head, running through the possibilities. But all I can think of is to rush straight in and attack the uncle, which is too dangerous for the little boy. I think about going in myself, but I'm so weak…

"Miko…" Tatsuo says, "I'm willing to sacrifice myself for you and your friends. I will help you save them."

"No, you can't, you'll get hurt." I say, looking down shyly. I couldn't live with myself if he were to get hurt. He's the strongest force of light in my life. I couldn't loses him.

"Miko, you know it's the only way." Tatsuo tells me. I sigh at the maturity in his voice and hate it. I hate that his childhood was stolen from him. It's just not fair. But, of course, it's common these days for children to be incredibly mature. I wish that wasn't true, but it is.

And because kids are over-mature, I decide to let Tatsuo help me get back my teammates.

Now we crawl through the tunnels to the underground cave I saw Tatsuo go into. As we enter the uncle, Kazuki, grins at us. The grin scares me. It reminds me of my father, the terrible look he always has, as if he enjoys my pain. I hate that look, I hate both of these looks. I wish they would go away.

"Ah, you're finally here, Uchiha Brat." I gasp. I remember someone saying that before…that man during the test…the one that I killed. "No, I'm not interested in your eyes, but I am interested in you."

I swallow, hard. I say, trying to keep my confidence, "What do you mean?"

"No one was ever nice to you. No one tried to save you from your father. No one really want you alive, if they did, they wouldn't let you face your, as you call it, destiny. So, I have a proposition for you: Join me. Let the weak ones go and join me; Become all-powerful. Trust me, you'll love it."

I don't know what to say. His words moved me, and he spoke as if everything was real, and he knew everything about me. I look at little, innocent Tatsuo, lazy Yoshiro, naïve Jiro. And I make up my mind.

"Yes, yes. I will join you, Kazuki." I say, avoiding the images of the three boys. I have betrayed them.


	11. Chapter 11

**Of Saving**

"So, Uchiha brat, do you know what my plan is?" Kazuki asks me. I shake my head no. "Ah, well, it's too make all the dragons sick and easily manipulated. I will get them sealed into everyone on these wimpy islands, then we will be the strongest force in the world, and we will take over! Of course, we have to get rid of your friends, for they have the dragons but will not be loyal to us."

"Ah, a good idea, Master." I say. The man laughs.

"Master? I like that touch. How about you go kill your friends now, Uchiha Brat?" Kazuki says. I flinch, but it's not visible, and I step towards my teammates, a kunai in my hand. I walk to Yoshiro. Best to get this over with.

"Miko?" Tatsuo whimpers. "Your not really going to do this, are you?"

"I'm sorry, Tatsuo," I say, whirling around and letting go of my kunai so that it flies toward my new teammate. Who, of course, is named Kazuki. He quickly dodges it and glares at me.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asks. I laugh. He really thought I'd abandon my teammates. No, I'd never do that. Tatsuo and Jiro are practically my brothers, and Yoshiro…

I run towards Kazuki, ready to attack. He leaps over my head and appears behind Tatsuo, who whimpers.

"Tatsuo!" I cry. Kazuki smirks, wrapping his arms around the small boy. And then the two are gone. "_NO_!" I drop to the floor and sob into my hands. No, how could I let that happen? How could I not have been strong enough to protect Tatsuo?

But now I have no time to think of that, I have to focus on getting Jiro and Yoshiro out of their bindings. I do this quickly, and then fall into their comforting arms. I am actually surprising myself with this. Before today, I would have considered this action weak and a disgrace to my clan. But now it feels…natural. Weird.

"C'mon, Miko." Yoshiro says to me. "All we have to do is think of a plan. What do you suggest?"

"I think…we should ambush them. They're nearing the end of the tunnel. I think…We should have time. Here's the plan…"

I watch as Kazuki stops in his tracks, trembling. Yoshiro is behind him, smirking. I watch Jiro step out from the shadows that I am hiding in. He rushes forward to pry Tatsuo from the uncle's arms.

To my surprise, Kazuki laughs and dodges Jiro, sending him into Yoshiro. Now I am confused. He shouldn't have been able to break Yoshiro's jutsu. I don't know what happened. I can't think. And now the uncle and the child have disappeared once again. It worries me.

"The only thing left to do is to fight." Yoshiro says to me and Jiro. I flinch. I don't want to fight Kazuki. There's no way I can defeat him, he's so strong…

"He's right, Miko," Jiro tells me.

"Don't you want to save Tatsuo?" Yoshiro adds.

"Okay," I sigh. "Let's do this."

We rush out of the restaurant we were talking in, and to the family's house. I rush to what I know is the uncle's room. But, before we can get in, four police officers stop us.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here, officers," Jiro says, relieved. "You see, Kazuki…Wait, what are you doing?"

The officers are attacking us. I dodge them and enter Kazuki's room, leaving my teammates to deal with the weaker opponents.

"Ah, you're here." Kazuki says. He had just finished tying Tatsuo to a chair.

"I'll tell you what, Kazuki, you and me fight to the death. No cheating or running," I offer. I'm afraid of losing, of course, for Kazuki has more experience. But I get into my fighting stance.

Kazuki grins and charges forward, throwing a punch at my face. My kekkai-genkai activates, and I can see in slow motion. His fist flies past my face as I turn sideways. My hand flies up, normal speed and grabs his wrist. I send chakra in a ring around his wrist and squeeze. I feel his wrist break and hear the quiet snap and loud scream in unison.

Now Kazuki knees my stomach, an attack I am not able to fend off. I bend over his leg, spitting out blood. But in this moment, I take out a kunai and stab the man's back. He yells, and throws me against the wall hard enough to make a 6-inch crater.

I groan. This is really better than what I go through with my father's beatings. And for some reason, I am now glad of his abusive nature. I know that I can take this fight. I drop to the floor and get into gentle fist stance.

I start to shift my back hand, trying to beat his intricate hand signs. I push my hand forward, fully force, the same time he finishes his hand signs and pushes his own hand forward, a blast of red coming from his hand. And so the light blue chakra and the red fire clash in between the two of us in a common power struggle.

I try to push more chakra out of my hand, but it's too much. His fire comes closer, closer…

"Chidori!" a voice cries, from behind Kazuki. Hajime.

As Kazuki falls, I cry, "Where have you been?"


	12. Chapter 12

**Just in Time for the Chunin Exams**

We arrive home just in time for a chunin to run up to us, tell us to follow him and lead us to a strange building. We stand in a line in front of an old man. I stare at him with curiosity. He has absolutely no hair, his black eyes are nearly hidden by his many wrinkles and he's bent down over a cane, dividing his height in half. I wonder who he is, what he's doing here.

"It's time for the chunin exams!" he croaks, sounding much like a frog. "If you think you can pass, step up."

There are more genin than I would have thought. There's at least twenty people here, maybe more. Most of the older ones have scars, and a steely glare in their eye. They're intense, intimidating. And of course, I start shaking, scared. One of the older ones step up, followed by two more. His team. Then Saki steps up, followed by Takumi and Ken. Emiko steps up, followed by Mamoru and Nao. And then, to my horror, Jiro steps up. Yoshiro steps lazily after him, but I hesitate for just a moment before stepping up. No one else comes forward.

"Alright." the froggy-man says, "Everyone who stepped up, go down the stairs."

I noticed that there was a trapdoor in the floor, leading somewhere underground. I stepped over to it with my team. It was so dark, I couldn't see a thing. I gulped as the older kids dropped into the darkness, followed by Emiko and Saki's team. Then Jiro and Yoshiro go down, and I follow, hesitantly. I open my mouth to scream as I plunge down, but as soon as I realize what I'm doing, I clamp it shut once again. I land with a solid thud on a compact dirt floor.

The small square of light that came from above vanished, and right after that screams echoed from above. Jolted, I grab at Yoshiro. I look around with my chakra. No one down here is screaming. I'm almost too scared to realize that there are more than eighteen people down here. The screams continue on. After the screams, something even more scary echoes.

Laughter.

A child's laughter, bouncing on the walls. The child kept laughing, kept laughing. But there was no child in the room. The child kept laughing, laughing. It wouldn't stop. I clamp my hands to my ears, but it does no good, the sound echoes in my head. I ram my hands into my face instead, and find the wet trails of tears. I'm crying. The child is laughing.

Then the eerie whispering starts, above the now quiet laughter of the children.

_One life for two. One life for two. One life for two. The child dies. One life for two. One life for two. One life for two. The child dies. One life for two. One life for two. One life for two. The child dies…_

And then everything stops at once. I don't know how I got in this position, but I am now clutching my teammates, and trembling, crying. What happened? I search the room, this was the affect on the children throughout the room. Everyone was clutching one another. I suddenly feel like I'm not alone. A chill enters the room, and a wind blows at my neck. Then I feel a presence of chakra, but this chakra, it's _dead_. It's in the middle of the room, floating. It's a child. A little girl. She laughs.

"I need help," she says, laughing. "Who will help me?"

I turn off my sensing, to think. This isn't real. Even if I feel it, it can't be real. It has to be part of the test, right? I have to help her. I have to. Otherwise, I'll never find myself anything other than weak. Alright, one step at a time.

I take Jiro and Yoshiro's hands and step forward to the ghost girl. It gets even colder the closer I get. But I don't shiver, just suppress the urge of weakness. We're almost to the girl. The girl looks at us, smiles, and suddenly, we're not in the dark anymore. No, we're in a much worse place. A testing room.

A man stands at the front. No, _the _man stands at the front. It's that old froggy-man. Blood stains his cloths. Peering at us, he points to the benches in front of him. I go to the first seat I see, but I realize that there are papers with _names _on them. I sigh, then find my name. It was quite easy, as the second last seat. I'm sure that the one next to me will be Saki. But, as the room fills up with ninja of all villages, and there's no sign of Saki, I start to worry. I worry more as the man steps up and starts talking.

"Well, I guess that's all…Oh, come in," he breaks off. I turn around, and my heart skips a beat in pure joy at the sight that Saki finally made it. She rolls her eyes sassily, then walks straight to her seat next to me. She flashes me a smile, somewhat nervously. The man clears his throat for attention.

"As I was saying," he starts again, "you've successively completed the first of the five-round process into becoming a chunin. That was the courage part. Next is the intelligence part. Please flip over your paper and start the test. You have half an hour."

I wonder anxiously if it's really going to take that long. I flip over my test and read the directions. It says:

**Read this test thoroughly and carefully before writing anything. **

Okay, easy enough. What's the first question?

**1. What is the square root of 2?**

Ummm…Skipping that! I read the rest of the questions, all as ridiculous as the first. I finally get through all ten. Okay, then. Time to break out the cheat. I stomp my heel against the floor, to make sure I have enough chakra out to see writing. I peer at the man's book. No, not the right test. No, no, no…Yes! I see that there's a direction on the man's test that wasn't on ours.

**The answers are on the pencils. **

Oh. I am so stupid, there's writing on the pencil it says to…answer only number three. What was number three? Oh. I that's why I skipped that question. What do I think of the hokage?

Great. Just great. I write that I hate him, that I think he's cruel. Just the usual in this horrible world. I sigh and put down my pencil, hoping that they won't kill me for that. I really only told the truth. I glance at the clock on the wall. Only one minute to go! Yoshiro and Jiro…I hope they figured it out. As I look around the room, I find that half the kids remain.

The person next to me looks flustered. He's sweating, shaking. I see him glance at my paper, and then he's gone. No chakra left behind to show where he once was. So that's why half the room is gone. It was full of cheaters.

"Put your pencils down!" Froggy-man orders. My pencil is already down. Suddenly, my paper flies to the front, joining a whole cloud of paper. They all land in a neat stack in the man's hands. He starts to rifle through them and announce who passed and who failed. As he goes on, the people he say had failed vanish. He is nearing the end, and I'm so nervous, I can barely contain it!

"Ren Kiyomizu, Mizu Mizushima, Chi Sieji: Pass! Shin Aburame, Yasuhiro Hyuga, Ran Inuzuka: Pass! Takumi Akimichi, Ken Nara, Saki Yamanaka: Pass!" Good. "Mamoru Haruno, Nao Hatake, Emiko Hyuga: Pass!" No! Oh, well. Wait, we're the last ones! I see the man staring at one of the tests in utter awe. I feel my stomach plummet, and am very confused when the man smiles. "Yoshiro Nara, Mikoto Uchiha, Jiro Uzumaki…" Hurry up and say it! I'm too weak to wait! "…Pass!"

I nearly faint in relief. Yes, I passed! I barely feel it when Saki hugs me. But then my elation pops. My father will not be happy that I took part in this without telling him first. I guess I better avoid him for a few days until this is done, then go back to him as a chunin. But, no. That would only make him even madder. I'm so stupid! How have I survived this far?

"Those of you who pass, follow me." the froggy-man orders. So, we all follow him out of the room. I'm nervous. I was so busy worrying about home that I didn't think there would be a round right after this one. I guess that's what we do in this world. The man started saying instructions. "There are twenty teams here right now, four for each village. Way too many. But it's okay, because when you all come out from where you're going, there will only be about seven teams. But, if you're lucky, only about three teams will pass and we can skip right to the fifth round. What do you guys say?

"What's with the scared faces? Anyway, you'll be going into the forest, so be careful. Many large animals roam these parts. Oh, and these trees are very old, so make sure that one doesn't fall on you.

"Anyway, the goal is to find the key. 'What's the key', you ask? Well, you see, to help that little girl, you have to find her dolls and a way to fix them. You see, seven of them are scattered around, but they're so dried up, I'm afraid. It's going to take some cleverness to figure out how to fix it, so be prepared to lose some blood.

"Oh, no. I believe I gave something away. Oh, well. You aren't starting until tomorrow, though, so please come to training ground 44 at about six a.m. And be there on time, because no one's going in after six. Now, please go rest until tomorrow. You don't want to be asleep during your death."

Bitterly, I think that this man is very _nice_. I turn to Yoshiro, who has his arms behind his head. I lick my dry lips and start to speak.

"U-Um…Yoshiro?" I've got his attention. "Good luck tomorrow."

He smiles and replies, "Do we really need luck when we have each other? I mean, love is really all it takes, right?"

"I don't believe in love."

"I do."

Silence.

"Well, I guess I better go."

"Y-Yeah. I-I'll see you later…" I stammer, then walk away to my house. I enter the house and see my father. He stares at me in scorn, from my head to my feet. When he looks at my feet, he scowls.

"Where have you been?" he asks. I stammer that I was on a mission. He replies, "Stop that _pathetic _stammering! And tell me what happened to your shoes!"

"I…well, I…took them off…" I'm scared. Very scared. How hard does he dare hit?

"You _took _them _off_? Why?" His voice is hard, razor sharp. His eyes burn like fire through my soul.

"I-I-I…"

"'I-I-I…'" he mimics in a baby voice. "_Pathetic_."

"I can see without them!" I yell, tears coming out of my eyes as I do. He's still staring at me, I can feel him judging how strong I am, how much I can take before I die. I just hope he doesn't break something.

"Well, I want you to wear your shoes." he says through gritted teeth. He then grabs my arm, hard, and drags me out of the doorway, into the house, and slams the door behind me. He drags me by my arm through the house and pushes me into his room. He slams the door and open window closed. He shoves me into a chair and rummages through his dresser. I daren't speak, there's no telling what he'd do to me. I just tighten my grasp on the armrests of the sturdy wooden chair.

He takes out a pair of blue sandals and brings them to me. He then goes back and takes out a needle and thread. He shoves the sandals onto my feet, then shoves the needle through one of the sandals.

If one was standing outside of the Uchiha's house on the first day of the chunin exams, they would be able to hear a scream emanate from the house.


	13. Chapter 13

**The Dead Forest of Death**

I limp out of the house, tentative on my damaged feet. I take a deep breath, flustered that I can no longer see, once again. I let out a squeal as I take another excruciating step. Today I have a hooded jacket on, pulled over my head so that no one can see my face. I also have bandages on my right wrist, as it hurts to bend it.

I take uncertain step after uncertain step, trying to make my way to the village simply by memory. I think I had better quit the chunin Exams, so the others don't have to die because of me. All my fault.

"Hey, Miko!" Jiro's voice. Footsteps. I think he's coming close to me. Beside, to the right. I smile in his direction, but I can't tell how he reacts. "Haven't you noticed something different about me? Miko?"

"No, I don't notice anything. What is it?" I ask, my smile still frozen awkwardly on my face.

"My hair is orange now. What's wrong?" he asks, concern in his voice.

"Why are your shoes on?" Yoshiro's voice adds. I feel myself getting uneasy, and not knowing what to say. I try to stammer some response, but nothing will come out. Oh, why can't I be stronger?

"You know what, I'm taking you to the hospital," Yoshiro says, "You are _not _doing anything in your condition!"

"All right, time to start!" from the croaky voice, I'm guessing the froggy-man says this. Yoshiro gives a little curse under his breath, and before I know it, I'm getting pulled forward.

We enter the forest…I think. Without thinking, I automatically place my hand on the ground. I can see where all seven of the dolls are. There's one in particular that's closest to us. But how will I instruct my team to that position.

"Yoshiro," I say, then blush. "Can I ride on your back?"

Through my hand, I see him blink, confused. Then I see him shrug and bend down. I place my hand on his back. Nothing. He's just not moving. I climb on his back and instruct him to go east. As he begins to run, I can see. Now I can see everything. I don't know why this is, but I'm glad about it.

"Here we are." Jiro says, picking up the doll. "But I guess we better get those shoes off you."

"Please," I beg. I am set down. Then I feel a little stab of pain as strings are pulled out of my feet. But it's nothing like getting them in. And then, I can see again. Blurrily, but I can see. Jiro and Yoshiro are still looking at me, concerned.

"Miko, sit down." Jiro says, and I comply. I can feel healing chakra engulf my feet. When I look questioningly at Jiro, he merely shrugs and says, "My sister taught me before she became insane."

"Oh, well, I'm sorry. Um…I guess we should figure this doll out. Let's see…" I say, sending my chakra into the doll to find out about the blood the froggy-man said we'd have to lose.

No, the doll un-shrivels as I pour my chakra into it. I look at it incredulously. That's it? What about the blood? I shrug before giving it to Jiro, who puts it in his backpack. The three of us nod at each other before running toward the exit.

We are about halfway there when I stop the others. I can sense that we're surrounded by three ninja. We all get into fighting stance, our backs facing each other so that we have no blind spots.

"Hey, come out!" Jiro calls. A lone figure walks toward us. He has black hair and eyes. He doesn't look that menacing. But there are others. All clones of him. I look in the trees to spot a girl and a boy. The girl has long black hair and blue eyes, she doesn't seem that powerful. The boy has brown hair and eyes. He seems about average in power. Quickly I make plans.

"Jiro, you take that girl in the trees to the east. Yoshiro, take the boy to the west. I'll take this one." I order in a whisper. The two nod and go in opposite directions to fight their opponents. I face the boy.

I quickly go in for a kick, landing a blow to his stomach. He disappears in a cloud of smoke. Three of his clones charge for me. I dodge a blow and use a sweep kick to take one of them out. I use gentle fist on one, and kick the other. But there are more coming for me.

Jiro faces off against the girl. He is stunned by her beauty, but tries not to let it get to him. It's just that she's so beautiful. She walks around him in a circle, sizing him up. He doesn't move a muscle.

"You are quite a strong boy," she gushes in a flirtatious tone. Jiro lets her voice wash over him. "I think you should test how strong you really are. See that man over there?" What was a tree quickly turned to a menacing man for Jiro's eyes. "He was really mean to me," the girl pouts. "I think I'd like it if you'd show him who's boss."

"Yes, yes, I'll show _him_!" Jiro yells, charging at the tree and forgetting his primary intentions.

Yoshiro had been reluctant to leave Miko's side. He didn't know why, but he has a weird feeling about that girl. Annoyed, he pushes his feelings aside to face the brown-haired boy in front of him.

"Let's get this over with," he says. Then, to his eyes he performs shadow possession jutsu. To others' eyes, however, he is just standing there, doing nothing. To his eyes, the jutsu works and the brown-haired boy is trapped. But not for long.

To Yoshiro's eyes, the boy jumps out of the shadow and lands behind him, giving him repeated blows to the back. To the eyes of another, it looks as though Yoshiro is having a sort of heart attack. To Yoshiro, he is having a fair fight between him and the boy. To another, he is trapped in the boy's terrible genjutsu.

Even though I had started out good, I am now exhausted, it's as though I have taken five repeated beatings from my father. And it hurts. But I keep fighting, so that I can protect Yoshiro and Jiro.

In the woods, just a little ways away, another team leaps from tree to tree. There is one girl, with mid-back-length brown hair and tired green eyes. She is riding piggy-back on a boy with black hair and also green eyes, which happen to be special to their village. He has darker skin than most ninja. Beside them is another boy, also with green eyes but with yellow hair.

"Kenta," the girl mumbles to the boy carrying her, identified as Kenta. He looks up at her questioningly. "Someone's in trouble."

"Your probably right, Aika." The other boy responds, "But it's not like we can do anything about it. It's every team for itself, remember?"

"Madoka," Kenta tells the boy, "if Aika thinks we should help, we probably should."

"I still don't get why," Madoka responds stubbornly.

"I told you guys," Aika says in a soft voice, "I can hear songs emitting from people. Love songs, happy songs, sad songs… These people have hero songs. So, we need to help them so they can save the world."

"What are you talking about?" Madoka complains.

"Listen to her," Kenta argues. "I think she knows what her abilities are."

Madoka gives up as the three charge in to save the people with the hero songs.


	14. Chapter 14

**The Next Stop in the Chunin Exams**

Try as I might, I can't defeat the boy. I think I might give up when a fog rises around us. Suddenly, I can't see a thing. It scares me. Why can't I see? As I think that, something grabs me around the waist and jumps out of the fog, carrying me out. We land just outside the fog, and I look at my captor. Or hero, whichever one.

The only distinguishable traits about him are his yellow hair and green eyes. He introduces himself as Madoka, and I tell him that I'm Mikoto. I wonder how the others are doing. I can only suppose that Madoka's teammates are saving them. Then I topple with exhaustion.

It turns out that Miko's assumption is correct. For as Jiro fights the tree and eventually topples from exhaustion, and stares with longing at the beautiful girl holding a kunai at his knife, a beautiful song breaks his trance. He looks over to see a black-haired, green-eyed girl sitting on a tree branch, singing.

He smiles as the girl's song makes the beauty topple to her knees. Then he slides away into exhaustion.

Yoshiro is still trying to defeat the unmoving enemy. He is still having trouble with the boy's genjutsu. He is very pleased when a dark-skinned boy comes out of nowhere and slams the genjutsu boy into a tree with a single push.

Then Yoshiro, too, slips out of his consciousness.

I wake up to see that five others are unconscious next to me. Three of them are the ones who tried to kill my team. I look at my teammates, sleeping soundly. It is night out, and with a jolt I realize that we have to be out of this place soon. I look at our saviors, Madoka's team.

I flinch as the beauty-girl wakes up, looking at me, then the others. She sighs, then flips her long hair.

"Well, I guess we should introduce ourselves. I'm Reiko, and my black-haired teammate is Hiro, the brunette is Katsu. Who're you guys?" she says in a surprisingly deep voice.

"I'm Aika," the girl on the other team says. "This is Madoka and Kenta."

I sigh. I guess that I have to introduce us. "I'm Mikoto, though everyone calls me Miko. This is Jiro and Yoshiro."

"Are you and Yoshiro…a thing?" Aika asks, averting her eyes.

For some reason this makes me blush. "N-No! Wh-Why would you think that?"

"Because you two emit a love song when you're together." the shy girl answers. I sigh and bring my knees to my chest.

In a few minutes, everyone had woken up. We all head out to the exit. Waiting there is the froggy-man, who collects our dolls before escorting us to a new building. We sleep there for the night.

We are woken up in the morning. I stretch and yawn, half-wanting to go to sleep, half-wanting to get out of this new building. I wake up my teammates next to me, then survey the people around me. Four out of the seven teams are Konoha teams. Two are our new friends. Only one is unknown to me.

The froggy-man steps up in front of us and starts to speak. "You will all now fight each other. We will separate you into fighting pairs. Let's start.

"Yoshiro vs. Aika. Jiro vs. Miki. Emiko vs. Saki. Mamoru vs. Kenta. Nao vs. Madoka. Shin vs. Reiko. Takumi vs. Hiro. Ken vs. Takayuki. Katsu vs. Yoshito. Ran vs. Yasuhiro. Go to a room, please."

I feel dizzy as I realize that my name hadn't been called. I tentatively raise my hand, timorous. The froggy-man ignores me. Only when the others have left he pays attention to me.

"Yes, it seems that choosing an odd number of teams was a bad idea. So, even though it won't be fair for you, you will be fighting me." he says to me. I nod and get into my stance. He gets into an opposing stance. I gulp before going offensive on the man.


	15. Chapter 15

**Terrible Fights**

I move my back hand with froggy-man's intricate dodges. Nothing is hitting him and I despair. He suddenly appears behind me. I quickly jab his ribs with my elbow. He stumbles backwards. I smirk in triumph.

In another room, Yoshiro is fighting against Aika. He sighs, knowing that with her genjutsu, she will win. So he lets her voice envelop him, then forfeits without consciousness.

In a different room, a much more interesting fight between Jiro and Miki, a beautiful girl with brown hair and leafy green eyes, takes place. Miki has summoned several trees and is manipulating them to crush Jiro, who is performing many jutsu to destroy or evade trees.

Miki controls the trees without much loss of chakra. Jiro soon tires and goes down because of Miki's relentless attacks. Miki stops attacking and sits down to tend to Jiro's wounds.

In another room, Saki and Emiko are facing off. Saki stares with contempt at Emiko before using mind transfer jutsu, taking control of Emiko's conscious.

But the jutsu doesn't last for very long, and soon Emiko lets out a relentless attack on Saki, who goes down. Emiko sits down, not even bothering to take care of Saki.

In yet another room, Mamoru and Kenta are trying to destroy each other, but instead are just destroying their room, eventually, Mamoru is able to set a plan into action. He lands one hit on Kenta, which is enough.

In a different room, Nao is fighting Madoka. Madoka had lifted his fog, but Nao, being the prodigy he is, is able to navigate his way out of the fog. He sends a chidori toward Madoka, which is enough to take him out.

Shin Aburame is ready to destroy Reiko in a different room. Thinking ahead, he has some bugs slip into her clothes before she is able to perform her genjutsu on him. Under her control, there's nothing he can do but wait until she collapses from the bugs' sucking of her chakra.

Takumi tries to take on the multiple Hiros. He tries and tries, but he is not able to take out the many boys. Hiro lands a final hit on the poor Akimichi.

Ken Nara tries to catch Takayuki in his shadow possession jutsu. Eventually, Ken is bored of trying to catch the boy who jumps high as the ceiling. He creates a tornado in the room, defeating both himself and Takayuki.

Katsu and Yoshito face off, but Katsu can't get past Yoshito's brilliance, and Yoshito's only weapon is his brilliance. They decide to stop trying to destroy each other.

Ran and Yasuhiro can't stand to fight each other, for they are teammates. They sit back-to-back, talking about how stupid the chunin exams are this year.

I still face the froggy-man, I am quite exhausted. I watch as he weaves some hand-signs before more than a hundred shadow clones appear. I get into my gentle fist stance. As all the clones charge at me, I quickly perform rotation. I'd seen Emiko use it before during a training session and had quickly copied it. I never thought it would come in handy, but now it sends all of those pesky clones backwards.

I lean on my knees, trying to catch my breath before the next onslaught. The man weaves more hand signs. I stand up straight, instantly recognizing the hand signs. He's going to use summoning jutsu. I don't have a summoning animal. Or…do I?

I thrust my right hand to the floor, shouting, "Summoning jutsu!" I feel a tearing sensation in my shoulder, and brace myself against the pain as it moves down my arm and reaches the floor, creating a seal there. And then I am standing on a dragon, facing a man on a frog.

My dragon roars and instantly charges at the frog, who jumps over him. I jolt as the dragon flies up, through the ceiling, then charges down, straight at the frog. A figure jumps off the frog just before the dragon slams into it, creating a huge crater that I now lay in the middle of. I breath heavily and look up at the froggy face that looks down at me.

I slyly position my hand so that my palm is aimed at his face, then let chakra through. I hear him scream as it hits him. I close my eyes, exhausted.


	16. Chapter 16

Finals: Mikoto vs. Emiko

I wake up in the hospital, and turn my head to see my three best friends, plus Aika and Kenta. They all smile happily at me as I sit up. I look questioningly at them all.

"Hey, Miko! You made it! You're in the finals! Only Aika here made it. There's also Emiko, Mamoru, Nao, Shin, Hiro and Miki." Jiro tells me. I count the names in my head. Emiko, Mamoru and Nao. So they all made it. I look at Saki, who's bandaged in all places. Emiko. I hope I fight Emiko. Then I stop my thoughts. That's not like me, to want to fight a strong opponent. But for some reason I have a craving to beat the stuffing out of Emiko Hyuga.

Besides that powerful team, there is Shin, an Aburame who is a year older than my team, Hiro, our new friend and Miki, a girl I don't know yet.

"You don't know Miki," Jiro speaks my thoughts, "But she's powerful. She can manipulate trees. It's crazy. She beat me. But she's really pretty."

I stand in the middle of an arena. It is destroyed from previous fights. But many people are cheering from the seats. I stand with Aika, apart from Emiko, Mamoru, Nao, Shin, Hiro and Miki.

"They will fight until they are unable to fight," Froggy man announces, his face bandaged so that only one eye is visible. "Here are the matches: Mikoto Uchiha vs. Emiko Hyuga." I glance sideways at Emiko, or rather my feet do, ready to defeat her. "Nao Hatake vs. Aika. Mamoru Haruno vs Miki. Shin Aburame vs. Hiro. Emiko and Mikoto, stay here. Everyone else, off the field."

Emiko and I face each other, both in gentle fist stance, both waiting for the match to start. Finally, froggy-man starts the match, and we both charge toward each other. It is a very tedious match. Every time Emiko and I start to strike each other, the other blocks. This goes on until I jump backwards and start my special technique. I move my back hand to follow her position. Then I move it forward.

As the chakra moves toward her, she performs a variation of rotation that starts near her, then moves toward the edges of the stadium. I am not able to dodge this level of attack and am slammed against the wall. I drop, then struggle to stand up.

"You cannot defeat me, Mikoto. Give up," she says. I wipe blood off my mouth and stand to face her. I get into gentle fist stance once again, ready to attack. She gets into a similar stance. I know I need a weakness. A blind spot. Ah.

I start to weave signs that I had copied from froggy-man. Hundreds of clones pop up. As a half-Hyuga, I know where their blind spot is. All I have to do is get Emiko off guard. So, I give one of my clones more chakra than I have and the other clones. It stands in front of Emiko she smirks.

The real me, stationed behind Emiko, throws a kunai at her back, where her blind spot is. She does rotation.

"What?" I ask, confused. She had destroyed all my clones with that jutsu, and deflected my kunai. She smirks.

"You're not like other Hyuga. I'm not, either. I have trained my eyes so hard, that they have no blind spot. I have no weakness."

"Why?"

"Because. I'm the strongest ninja in the world."

"Why?"

"Because I need to be the strongest. I must."

I walk up to the girl, who steps back, ready to defend herself. I touch her heart. Then I look at her. "You've been hurt."

She angrily hits my hand away and tries to strike my heart. I catch her by the wrist.

"Tell me."

"Shut up. It's my destiny." Emiko says harshly.

"Is it?" I ask gently, putting my hand on her heart once again.

_"You will be a great ninja someday, Emiko. And a good head of the clan." A man says to a little Emiko. She looks at him with big, hopeful eyes. _

"Really?" Her voice is like Tatsuo's, baby-like.

"Yes, really." The man, her father, says before walking over to a beautiful woman. He kisses her and places a hand on her tummy. She's pregnant. A boy comes in, a little boy.

"Hi, daddy," he beams. "Is it time for our sparring match yet?"

"Now, Haru, do you really want to fight Emiko? You know how strong she is." the man says. The boy nods vigorously. The siblings begin to fight. Emiko loses. The man turns his head away, ashamed.

But life got worse. That night, while eating a meal prepared by Emiko, the woman starts to choke. No one is able to save her, and she dies with the baby not yet old enough to survive outside her tummy.

"Emiko, come with me," the father says, standing up from the table. Emiko follows him, scared.

In a new room, the man takes out a jar of green powder. He draws a mark on the girl's forehead. Then he uses a jutsu to activate it. A scream lets itself out of Emiko's lips as she grabs her head in agony.

"Emiko, you can't let your father rule your life," I say to the trembling girl.

"_Shut up_!" Emiko screams, and suddenly, we are in combat again. Emiko takes advantage of my weakened state that came from reading her heart and is able to land a few hits on me, disrupting my chakra flow. She gets into position for an eight trigrams attack.

"I am the best ninja ever!" She screams at me before performing her deadly jutsu. I feel the fingers jabbing my skin and chakra points, but I don't care. I guess I'll just have to fight without chakra. It won't be too hard. I hope.

I take out a kunai and begin to charge at the relentless Hyuga. She knocks my hand aside and jabs me in the chest, sending me across the stadium. I crash into a wall. Blood spurts out of my mouth. But it's okay. I get much worse from my dad. And the thing is that with my dad, I can't fight back.

Now I stand up and face Emiko once again. I charge for her, but she easily evades me. I try and try to hit her, but she hits me back once again. I know that this time I can't get up. The strength in my feet that allows me to see is slowly fading. I strain to keep the strength up, and end up seeing Yoshiro in the stands.

He is standing up, yelling something. The sight of him…gives me strength. I struggle up, even though I can no longer see. I can hear Emiko rushing towards me. I can feel the vibrations in the earth, which is her getting ready to strike. I stick my hand out as she sticks hers out. I release my seal as Emiko is almost striking my heart. We both strike at the same time. I get thrown back, she gets thrown back. We both make craters in the ground.

The crowd is silent as the two girls are thrown into the ground. Everyone is waiting for one of the girls to get up.

"Please get up, Miko, please get up," Saki chants to herself. Yoshiro is silently chanting the same thing. Beside them, Jiro is standing up and yelling for Miko to get up. A hand sticks out of one of the holes and a girl gets out. Jiro falls back into his seat.

"Miko!" Saki yells as the girl faces the crowd.

I look at the crowd. My blow was stronger than hers. In fact, her blow had barely hurt me. I smile as I hear Saki's voice call my name.

"The winner is Mikoto Uchiha. Next fight, please." The froggy-man says as I find my way out of the fighting area. I am glad I won, but sad for the poor girl. Why do things have to be that way in this world? It's psychotic.

I forget my worries as someone steps beside me on the street outside the stadium. I smile at Yoshiro's voice as he congratulates me. Next fight will be Nao versus Aika. I walk with Yoshiro to the seats. I start to feel my feet quickly heal. Good, I want to see this fight.


	17. Chapter 17

Finals: Nao vs. Aika

Nao stares at the weak-looking Aika. She has her eyes averted. Nao seems to be underestimating her. He does a quick hand sign and I notice with a gasp that he has the sharingan in his left eye, the one with the scar.

"I have no idea who to root for. On one hand, there's Nao, who's sooooo hot, then on another hand, there's Aika, who's sooooo sweet," Saki mourns. "Who do you think I should go for, Miko?"

"Aika." I answer simply. Aika did save us, after all. Well, me, Yoshiro and Jiro, at least. I doubt Saki knows about that, though.

I watch in slight amusement as Nao charges at Aika, who is now sitting down. Words start to come out of her mouth. The words echo through the stadium and the very souls of everyone there. Aika has such a beautiful voice.

"_Let you drop your violent intent_,

"_Let you stop your imminent_,

"_Violence won't solve this_,

"_Just give up_."

Nao has stopped in his tracks. He is vibrating, trying to gain control over his arm that is slowly rising in forfeit. I smirk. Aika will win. She is the best. Of course, that was before I see Nao's eye.

I know suddenly that he is using Magen: Kyō Tenchi-ten, or Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change. This technique turns the genjutsu against the user. I bite my lip in nervousness as Aika's eyes widen and she starts to struggle with her arm.

Then she starts singing again.

"_Repent_,

"_That eye of yours_,

"_It has caused pain_,

"_I should know_.

"_Close it now_,

"_Leave it to slumber_,

"_Don't let it open_,

"_Until noon tomorrow_."

I watch as Nao's eye closes and Aika looks with her innocent eyes at him. He slowly unsheathes a sword that was in a sheath strapped to his back.

He charges at Aika, who still sits, but dodges the blows meant for her. Finally, Nao knees her in the chest, sending her flying backwards.

"Aika!" Saki and Jiro yell at the same time, both standing up. I ignore them and continue to watch the fight unfold. Nao is now walking towards Aika, a killer intent clear in his one open eye. Aika struggles to sit up. Then she starts singing again.

"_Damned_,

"_You are_,

"_Your heart:_

"Stops

."

And then Nao doubles over, clutching his heart. After a second, he steps forward. Aika's eyes widen. Mine do, too. He shouldn't be able to take a heart attack!

But Nao seems to be stronger than others and he steps up to the poor girl, his grip tight on his sword as he swings it at Aika.

A spurt of blood sprays on the ground. I look at Aika, with her now-bloody arm. She had brought it up just in time, and now it was cut, deeply into the bone. She stared at it with wide eyes before singing.

"_I decree_,

"_All my wounds_,

"_Go to you_,

"_Nao_."

I gasp as Aika's arm heals, only to be inflicted on Nao's arm. He stares at it, not in the least surprised, before performing a jutsu that I quickly copy. Suddenly, I sense a chakra envelop him. His wound heals. He can no longer get hurt. Neither of them can.

"_Oan_,

"_Uoy ot og_,

"_Sdnuow ym lla_,

"_Eerced I_."

Aika sang backwards, rewinding the song so that it seemingly never happened. She stood up. I thought about it. I wonder if she knows that he can't get hurt.

"Let us do this the hard way, then, Nao," she says, slanting her eyes at the silvered-haired boy. I wonder what she means. What can she do?

Aika's feet start to glow, then her legs, and eventually, her whole body is glowing. I stare with interest at this. Then Aika charges, Nao charges. They are both just a blur, fighting with their taijutsu.

I hear cheering everywhere, for Nao, for Aika. I don't cheer. I don't see the point. It suddenly doesn't matter who wins when I look at my house to see my father. He's pounding at my door. He thinks I'm in there.

I watch my dad from afar as he busts the door down and looks around to see me not there. He punches the wall and heads out of the house.

I go back to the fight, but don't really care about it anymore.

Nao tries again to hit Aika, but she retaliates. Her punch is blocked and an unseen hand hits Aika in the stomach. Hard.

She falls to the ground, and is barely able to sit up before Nao grabs her by the collar and punches her again. He repeats this procedure several times.

"Why doesn't he stop the fight?" asks Saki. Then, in a louder voice, she yells, "Hey, dummy, stop the fight! Can't you see he's going to kill her?"

"Sit down, Saki," I tell her, intent on the fight, even though a second ago I had been thoroughly worried about my father.

"Miko, he's hurting her!" Saki protested.

"Yeah, but you still love him, don't you?" I ask her.

"No…" Saki responds glumly. I return my full attention to Nao's punches. I see Aika make a hand sign with one hand, activating a jutsu. Suddenly, Aika's injuries aren't hers anymore, but Nao's. He slumps to the ground, unconscious, as Aika sits up nonchalantly.

"What?" Saki and Jiro ask at the same time, confused.

"She never deactivated that jutsu," I say. "You see, she's really no good at taijutsu, she just wanted Nao to attack her. Because when she rewound her song, that was just for show. She really was making a hand sign to put that jutsu on hold, then she released it when she was beat to a pulp. Nao isn't as strong as her. But he underestimated her."

"You're right," Yoshiro says. Saki and Jiro stare at us for a moment, then turn their heads to the fighting arena. They look at each other, then simultaneously jump out of their seats.

"Yes, Aika!" They yell at the same time. I smile as the timid girl looks at Kenta, who had entered the arena to carry her out. She wraps her arms around his neck and he grabs her legs. Then he walks out of the room.

"Never underestimate an opponent," I tell Saki and Jiro.

"I figured that out when I met you," Jiro tells me, making a face.

"I already know that!" Saki adds, laughing. I smile at the two before trying to remember the next two fighters. Mamoru and Miki.


	18. Chapter 18

**Finals: Mamoru vs. Miki**

"Who do you think will win?" Saki asks us as we look at the two staring each other down on the battlefield. "I think it'll be Miki."

"I agree." Jiro says. Yoshiro and I exchange glances.

"We think it'll be Mamoru," I say for the two of us. "Sure, Miki is obviously the stronger opponent, but, judging by the way things have been going, she'll underestimate Mamoru. He knows not to underestimate someone. That was Kenta's mistake while fighting him, after all."

"Good point," Saki tells us.

Miki automatically summons trees once the froggy-man starts the match. Only a few trees, but enough to be menacing. She makes intricate arm movements, sending trees flying toward Mamoru, who quickly punches through them.

"This isn't going anywhere," Saki complains. I grin at her, knowing that it annoys her.

After about ten minutes, the process is exactly the same. But, I have noticed something. Along with the trees attacking above ground, there is one tree underneath Mamoru, slowly rising, its branches like a net.

And then that special tree shoots out of the ground, capturing Mamoru in the tightly woven net of branches. I can see Mamoru inside the tree, already punching at the wood. I know that he won't break it. There is a special pattern of chakra in this tree that wasn't in the others. The other trees were alive as plants. This one seems to be alive as a human.

I look at Miki, evaluating her strength, her wisdom and, most importantly, the look in her eyes.

She has haunted eyes. Jiro has haunted eyes, Emiko has haunted eyes. My father has haunted eyes. Most ninja's eyes are at least a little haunted, but I've never seen anything like Miki's eyes.

"Oh, Miki, you've been hurt," I murmur, looking at the girl. She is staring at the tree, hatred now mixed with the haunting in her eyes.

"You can't beat me," she says, "I've killed more people than you've ever even seen. How do you think I create my trees?"

So that's it. She probably experienced death of a loved one, and the next day they appeared as a tree for her. She must have realized that when she killed someone, they would come back as comforting trees. I sigh. It's so sad when one loses their childhood.

I look into the tree. Mamoru is now just sitting there, as the tree grows closer and closer to crushing him. He suddenly opens his emerald eyes. They are glowing with an intensity that my chakra-sensing feet can barely handle.

He places one hand on the wood then draws it back only to shoot it forward, destroying the chakra-woven wood. He slips out of it, then faces Miki. She narrows her eyes, then makes more intricate hand movements. But in that moment, Mamoru disappears. Miki's eyes widen.

Mamoru appears behind Miki, pulling her hands violently behind her back. She grits her teeth and moves her eyeballs to see him without moving her head. He stares, bored, into her eyes. He moves his mouth to her ear and whispers something that makes her eyes go wide.

She aims a violent kick for his balls, but he quickly catches her foot with his. She simply struggles now, her brown hair flying every which way as she uses brute strength to try to get away. He simply slides one arm around her waist while holding her hands together with the hand of the other.

"What is he doing to her?" Saki asks, dumbfounded.

"I…don't know," I reply. I have no clue what he could be doing as he holds onto her struggling figure. Eventually, she slumps over his arm, panting for breath. I can see little tears dripping from her haunted eyes, to the ground. I stand up.

I jump over the wall separating the fighting arena from the stands. I walk up next to the froggy-man.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"I don't know," he says. "But I'm not going to stop this match. It's way too interesting."

I sigh and sit down next to the man and search Mamoru's eyes. His eyes are haunted, too, I see. Miki sees me, and turns her crying face my way.

"I killed his parents," she says, sobbing. "But…I only ever killed criminals, with the jail and town's permission. I couldn't have killed innocent civilians."

"You did," I say. "You just weren't thinking. It was after your loved one's death, you went crazy, and didn't know what you were doing."

"It's true," Miki said, "After my moma's death, I don't know what happened. A whole year went by I couldn't control myself. I guess I could've killed innocent civilians, but…"

"I can show you," I say. I walk up to her, then place my hand over her heart. A vision flashes in my head. I see a destroyed village, a girl with brown hair walking away from a boy with pink hair kneeling over two corpses.

"That's…my village. But…I don't remember you." she turned to look at Mamoru.

"He was probably visiting," I tell Miki. She nods and then starts to struggle against Mamoru's arm again.

"Let…me…go…" she says. I laugh.

"You guys need a fair fight," I say. I turn to froggy-man. "Let's start this fight over."

"You can't just…" He starts, then looks at my face. "Oh, alright, let's start over. Mamoru, let go of the girl."

Mamoru shakes his head, then takes out a kunai. Miki starts to struggle even more than ever. "_What are you doing_," she screams. Mamoru presses the kunai against her throat until there is blood.

"I finally find the girl who killed my parents," he says. "I'm not going to let the chance to get revenge slip away. You will die now."

"_NO_!" Miki screams, starting to struggle like no one's struggled before. I watch, doing nothing. I don't know what to do. "_Get_. _Off_. _Of_. _Me_."

Mamoru gives a creepy smile, then slits Miki's throat. She lets out a piercing scream. Mamoru lets Miki drop to the ground. I rush to her side, but am blocked by trees that shoot out from the ground. They are now surrounding the two, but I can see inside the tightly packed circle.

Miki is sitting on her knees, looking at the sky, a blank expression in her eyes. Her arms are outspread, and her mouth is open wide. I rush through the trees, destroying the ones that stand in my way with my gentle fist. I hurry to Miki, but when I reach out to her, she swats me away. I read her chakra, It's swarming around her, a purple chakra. It is foul, and evil. I've never seen anything like it.

As I survey the chakra more, I realize that it's coming from a seal on the girl's stomach. I rush to her, only to be swatted away again. Suddenly the other ninja who had taken the chunin exams were next to me.

"What is it?" Saki asks.

"I think…she's the ten-tailed beast jinchuriki." Ken Nara says. I look at him, wide-eyed, before getting ready to fight.

"We can't fight it!" Ken yells at us. "It's too powerful!"

"Saki, Yoshiro," I say. They nod, and together we throw our right hands on the ground, feeling a fire start in our right shoulders. It crawls down our arms and creates a seal on the ground.

Suddenly, three dragons are facing a figure with ten tails that looks most like a giant fox with a few alterations. I gulp, then look down at my dragon. I notice that it's a red dragon, and I wonder why I never thought to look before. Saki's dragon is a dark blue, and Yoshiro's is light blue.

I look at the ten-tailed beast. We have to fight this thing. And I am scared.


	19. Chapter 19

**Finals: Three Dragons vs. the Ten-Tailed Beast**

I stroke my dragon's smooth scales as I stare at the beast. I sigh, not exactly knowing what to do now.

"Alright!" Saki shouts, jumping on her blue dragon's back. "Let's do this! Come on, Mizu, let's go!"

"Yes, I am ready to beat down some demons," the blue dragon, Mizu, hisses.

Yoshiro sighs. "Are you ready, Ea?"

"Not really, but…" Ea yawns.

"Are you Kasai, then?" I ask the red dragon.

"Yes. You're a smart one, then, aren't you?" He gives me a toothy smile and I blush.

The beast roars, and I feel Kasai tense underneath me. He jumps into the air, and I barely have time to attach to his back with my feet. The other two dragons rise with us, and we start to spin together in a sort of spiral. The three dragons face downwards and together charge to the ground, still spiraling, like a drill.

We miss the beast, who jumps out of the way just in time. It is surprisingly quick for a monster of his size. He tramples the stands and heads out for the village. We follow, trying to catch up with his speed.

"Saki," I call, "Can you use mind-transfer on him?"

"I'll try!" she says to me, then to Mizu, she says, "Can you lend me your chakra?"

"Yes. Let's just get this over with." Mizu replies as a dark blue chakra starts to envelope Saki. The blond gets on her knees and makes a square with her hands. She goes limp. I bite my lip, hoping for the best.

"Yoshiro, prepare your jutsu," I tell him, referring to his wind cyclone jutsu.

"If you say so, Miko," he replies, bored. I nod and prepare my fireball jutsu as the ten-tailed beast stands still, taken over by Saki. Suddenly, Saki body flies backwards a few inches and she rubs her head, grumbling.

"_Now_!" I shout to Yoshiro, and let my fireball jutsu go as he lets out his jutsu. The oxygen from his wind whips my flames into a huge frenzy. I watch as it hits the beast full on. It screams, but doesn't take much damage.

"How does that work?" Saki shouts angrily, pushing herself up onto her knees. I ignore her and watch as the beast ravishes the village.

"Saki, get Jiro, now. We'll try to get the beast into the woods. Jiro's an Uzumaki, I'm sure he'll be able to seal this thing back into Miki. If that's what we want to do." I say. Yoshiro nods in approval and Mizu starts to fly back to the stadium.

"Alright, let's do this," I say to both myself and the others as we start to heard the beast to the woods using everything we've got. Finally, the beast is in the woods.

"Where's Saki?" Yoshiro grumbles. I shrug, more to myself than to him, and hope that Saki will arrive soon.

For a diminutive moment, I can sense Miki's chakra inside the huge bulk of the ten-tailed beast's chakra. Kasai must have felt it, too, for abruptly, we are charging for the beast's stomach, where Miki's chakra was. I gasp as we ram into the beast. Suddenly, Kasai disappears from underneath me, and I ram into the beast myself, and feel the chakra overwhelm me.

I fall to the ground, trying to grasp my consciousness. I fall into someone's arms. I blush as I see Yoshiro's face.

"Okay, Miko?" he asks. I nod, but that doesn't keep me from perceiving a slight blush on his face. Precipitously, I see a flash of purple coming from the beast, and then Yoshiro's body on top of me. I see blood coming from his mouth. I don't even know what happened.

"Yoshiro?" I ask, timorous.

"I…I…I'm…fi-" Yoshiro attempted to stammer, but fell limp into my arms. Before I know it, my sharingan is activated. I stand up on slightly shaky legs and stare at the beast. I stare into the beast's eyes until it stops moving.

"Get back into Miki," I order. I watch as the evil chakra starts to get sucked back into Miki. She gasps, then lays sprawled on the ground. I rush to her, holding her nearly weightless body in my arms.

"Where are you Saki?" I whimper as Miki's skin starts to take on a purplish hue. I wonder if there's anything I can do.

"Miko, set her down! I'll take care of this!" Saki says, jumping off her dragon, who had just came out of nowhere. She pushes me gently aside and lays her hands on Miki. She closes her eyes and her hands glow green, then they return to normal, then become green again. I watch as she finds where she wants her hands to be, then lets chakra flow from them.

I watch in interest as Saki's chakra heals Miki. I nod in approval, then rush to get Yoshiro. Saki quickly heals him, as well.

"Where did you learn that?" I ask Saki.

"I don't know…I just…Did it…" Saki says. "I kind of used your feet chakra thing, and…well…yeah."

"Right. Well, let's get them back to the village, shall we?" I propose.

"No." Saki replies.

"What?"

"We're not going back." Saki repeats, then calls, "Right, Jiro?"

"Right!" He calls back, peeking his head from the back of Mizu.

"Alright, I'll go get the others. You guys just…wait, I guess." I say, then rush back to the stadium, thinking about who I want to come with us. I settle on Emiko's team, even though they're a bunch of freaks, the rest of Saki's team, the Inuzuka-Hyuga-Aburame team, Hiro's team, Miki's team and Aika's team.

I tell them where to go, then survey the spectators. Half of them are receiving medical care for the injuries inflicted upon them by the beast's escape. I sigh and walk around to all the groups, telling the medical ninja where the people's injuries are the worst.

"What will happen to the beast and the girl?" asked one woman as I pointed out her injuries.

"I think we're planning on taking the beast out of her, without hurting her." I say, even though I know this is impossible. I wonder if there is a way.

"There you are, Mikoto." I turn slowly, feeling terror in my very bones. My eyes widen in fear as I see my father. "I've been looking all over for you. And look, your shoes are off again. What have I told you about that? Come on, we're going back to my house."

"…No." I say after some hesitation.

"What?" he asks, looking at me with fire in his eyes.


	20. Chapter 20

**Finals: Mikoto vs. Mr. Uchiha**

"I said, 'no'." I say, with more confidence this time. His brow furrows.

"Why, you insolent little girl! Talking that way to the man who selflessly raised you, gave you food, a place to stay, protected you…"

"You did none of that!" I yell, clenching my fists in pure rage. "All you did was damage me…I would have been much better off without you! Don't act like you know me! Because, father, I'm stronger than you think…"

"You?" he laughed. "Strong? Ha! Prove it!"

And then he charged at me, starting a chidori. I licked my dry lips, then skillfully dodged his blow. This happened several times before he finally hit my arm, sending a terrible pain through my entire body. I gasp and grab at my damaged arm, wincing. I know that I'll have to give this my all, but after fighting the beast, I'm weakened.

I get into my gentle fist stance. I carefully adjust my back hand to line up with his body. I push my hand back, and he dodges, the byakugan now activated. I keep up my jutsu, and he keeps dodging.

"See, you can't even land a hit on me," he laughs. "Come on, Mikoto, give up. Let's go home."

"No!" I yell, activating the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"What? Where did you…? How did you…?" My dad stammered at my Mangekyō Sharingan. I honestly don't know how I got it, either. It must have been when Yoshiro protected me. But he didn't die…did he?

"Amaterasu!" I yell, and black flames appear on my father's chest, where I had been focusing. I deactivate my sharingan and get back into gentle fist position. I quickly strike my father while he's busy getting his shirt off. He stumbles the slightest bit, but then stands up as though unharmed.

"Don't worry, Mikoto, I'm not dead yet." he taunts. I feel hot tears start to sting my eyes. I wipe them away, not wanting my dad to see my weakness.

"Father, I don't want to kill you," I say.

"I don't want to kill you either, Mikoto. Then there'd be no heir to the Uchiha." he replies, pouting slightly as if this is a joke. Then he laughs his maniacal laugh. I cringe, and try to shrink backwards. "Fight me, worthless girl."

My eyes narrow. "I will."

We both charge at each other, I'm on the defensive as he tries to disturb my chakra. I deftly dodge a hit, then land a hard blow on his chest. I quickly spin and kick him in the chest with unyielding strength. I then hit him under the chin, sending up into the air, then back down to the ground, gravity pulling him so hard that he creates a crater in the ground.

I take a half-step backwards. And then I'm flying forward after a slight pressure applies itself to my back. I tumble across the ground until I am able to find my bearings. I slowly stand up and turn to see my father smiling a crude smile. He seems unhurt.

"Come on, Mikoto. You can do better than that." he sneers. I sit down as my feeble legs give out. I sit cross-legged, my hands resting on my knees. I close my eyes and shut off my seeing. I hear my father running at me, thinking I am vulnerable at the moment. As I sense his hand raise, aiming at my face, I high-block, then throw my arm to the side, sending him tumbling across the ground. I quickly perform hand signs, then turn my head to wear I can hear him struggling and shoot a fireball his way.

I hear him scream, and I smile. I turn on my seeing once again and see his burnt body struggling to get up. He looks at me with daggers in his eyes, then performs hand signs so quickly that even my sharingan can't keep up with his hands.

My arms automatically fly up as a jet of flames flies my way. I scream as the fire licks my skin, drawing the life out of it. And then it all slows down. I quickly jump back, normal speed, and run around the fire, seeing my dad still spurting fire out of his mouth in slow motion.

Deftly, as if I'm dealing with just another enemy, I pull out a kunai and stab my father in the back with it. And then everything is normal speed again.

He screams and falls to the floor. His body twitches for a moment, then goes limp. I feel his pulse. It has stopped.

"I'm sorry, father," I mutter, then sit beside him, smoothing his clothes, or what remain of them, and sobbing softly.

"Miko! We've been wai…oh." Saki comes out of nowhere and looks at my father, then me. "Well, no use crying over spilt milk! Especially if it's sour and lumpy. Let's get you cleaned up. You're a mess!"

I look at myself for the first time as Saki pulls me away. Most of my clothes are burnt, and I'm cut in more than a few spots. I place a hand on one of my breasts, wondering how it could have been wounded so badly.

Saki laughs when she sees where my hand is. "Let's go to your house. I don't think you want the guys gawking at that."

Oh, Saki, such a cheerful girl.

At my house, I take the liberty of picking out everything that would be useful for our new…settlement, I guess it could be called. After I'm all cleaned up, Saki and I, both pushing a wagon full of supplies, make our way to the camp where the others are waiting.

"It's about time!" Jiro yells, jumping up and rushing over to Saki and me, pulling us into an awkward group hug. After he lets go, I see that Yoshiro is standing again, staring at me with a slight smile on his face. I walk over to him and ask if he's alright.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired." Yoshiro responds to my concern. He grins, noticing the wagons. "Did you rob your house?"

"No…I…uh…inherited this stuff." I stammer, unsure of what I should say.

"Your father's dead?"

"Yes."

"Sorry." he says, then a little blond girl runs up to him and grabs his leg.

"Big brother! When are we going to build?" she whines. I laugh at his little sister, Tema. She has giant blue eyes and sandy blond hair. Unlike Yoshiro, she's not good with shadows, so specializes in wind, even though she's only seven, she has proved herself to be deadly.

"Well, let's start by finding a good place!" Saki instructs us, so we all begin to look at a map.


	21. Chapter 21

The Land of Peace

After some debating, we decide on a piece of land that has never been inhabited before. If one looked at a map, this piece of land would be just East of the fire country, still on the main piece of land. We quickly pack up and start walking there, and arrive within a week.

The first thing we do once we're there is build a wall, using Miki's ability to control trees. After a crude wall is put up, we make a capital right in the middle of the piece of land. It is just a couple of crude buildings, the first being a big one for us all to live in, each of us having our own room. The next is a small shed, halfway underground, to store food in. The next is a building to do business in. And that's all we have.

"We need a leader," Saki says one day. I agree, and think it should be Saki, the one who has been leading us this whole time.

"Let's do it this way," Jiro proposes, then stands in front of everyone. "If you want to be a leader, stand on my right. If you don't stay where you are."

Emiko goes to his right, but she's the only one.

"Saki?" I ask the blond. She shrugs.

"I don't know, I was kind of hoping to train some medics." she explains.

"Lady Tsunade, fifth hokage, blond. Known for super-human strength and healing ability. One of the greatest hokages ever, though she shirked her duties in paperwork." I recite, thinking back to when my father taught me.

"Oh, very well!" Saki exclaims, heading over to Jiro's right.

"Now, who votes for Saki?" Jiro asks, and everybody, including Emiko, votes for Saki. She sighs.

"Well, let's get this over with! What do we do now?"

"We'll need someone to be medical, train under you. We'll need some political leaders to advise you, then maybe some educators. We'll need some people to go around the world, bringing people back here…" Jiro counts, squinting into the distance.

"Why don't you just be the leader?" Saki asks him, exasperated.

"Because, people don't listen to me like they do you. You're highly respected." Jiro says, smiling at Saki. "Okay, here's what we'll do. We need a meeting!"

I shrug and follow him, along with everybody else into the crude capital building. We all sit around a table, looking at Saki and Jiro for instructions.

"Okay, everybody, tell me what we'll need for this country!" Jiro yells at everyone.

"Food!" yells Takumi Akimichi.

"Alright," Jiro says, writing that down.

"An education system," Yoshiro proposes.

Along with those, people also said that once people started moving in, they should divide the country into states and have political leaders for each state. Another person talked about a medical branch. Another wanted a currency system. And those were the basic ideas.

"Another thing we'll need is a military and travelers." Saki said. "Okay, who wants to be a general?"

"I'll do that," said Ken Nara and a boy named Yoshito at the same time.

"You can both do it." Saki ordered. "Two heads are better than one. Now, who wants to travel?"

"I'll do it," I say.

"Me, too." Yoshiro volunteers.

"Alright, anyone else?" Jiro asks, writing everything down. "Okay, I'll pass this around, and everyone should sign."

I look at the list as it gets to me. It tells the job and the person in charge or working.

**Leader: Saki Yamanaka**

**Advisor/secretary: Jiro Uzumaki**

**Food: Takumi Akimichi**

**Education: Ran Inuzuka, Shin Aburame, Kenta and Aika**

**States: Hiro**

**Politicians(To explain to newbs): Takayuki and Reiko**

**Medical branch: Emiko and Yasuhiro Hyuga and Saki Yamanaka**

**Currency: Katsu and Madoka**

**Transportation: Mamoru Haruno and Nao Hatake**

**Carpentry: Miki**

**Military: Ken Nara and Yoshito**

**Travelers: Miko Uchiha and Yoshiro Nara**

**You all volunteered for your occupation and will be allowed to switch. When Miko and Yoshiro bring in new people, Hiro will create a new state for them, then Takayuki and Reiko will explain to them the process of this country. They will swap their old coins for some of ours. Then they can help Miki build their town or house and choose what they want to do from there. Each state gets two representatives(all states should be equal sizes, so this should work out), they will represent the people in an annual meeting. If they have represented before, they will not represent again. We take everyone's thoughts into perspective and try to see from all sides of a situation. If there is a problem, it will be brought to the leader, Saki, and we will solve it in a meeting. Each state will be connected by roads thought out by Mamoru and Nao, who will also try to create a faster version of transportation than walking. **

**Rights:**

**One has the freedom of speech, press, religion, political views and expression on the grounds that they are not harming another. **

**Responsibilities:**

**One should help the community, vote and not hurt another(MANDATORY). **

I quickly sign my name and hand it to the next person. I can't believe we young kids were able to come up with something like that. It's not perfect, but as people come in, we'll be able to use their ideas to make it better. I smile at our future.

"Okay, before we start bringing people in, I think we should take some time to really map things out and get stronger," Saki says.

"She's right. How 'bout in three years we send out Miko and Yoshiro?" Jiro suggests.

"Too long," Yoshiro says.

"One year," Reiko says.

"No, two years." Saki says, compromising the two.

"Right, let's use this time to get as strong as we can!" Jiro yells.

"Just one question." I say. Everybody looks at me. "What should we call this country?"

Jiro grins. "The Land of Peace!"

And so that is our country's name. We will be prepared to fight for our peace in two years. And I can't wait to start training.


End file.
